Love and Duty Come in Chains
by deathcurse
Summary: No matter where Konoka went, Setsuna would always be her guardian. After all, duty always won over love - even if that duty meant marrying into a family to protect the world's wards from destruction, and watching the one you love give herself to another.
1. Prologue

Love and Duty Come in Chains

Prologue

_April 2010_

"I do."

Those two words turned everything that had been hazily dreaded into something true.

"I do."

There. It's done. Setsuna closed her eyes. Even so, she couldn't watch.

She couldn't watch Konoka kiss that man. It was her one moment of weakness. She won't have another.

She couldn't, not for Konoka's sake.

**o**

"_If anyone present can show just cause as to why this couple may not be legally joined together, you should now declare it, or hereafter hold your peace." _

_Setsuna kept her eyes open when Konoka looked at her. She stared straight back into Konoka's searching, deep eyes in that pause. Stared, then looked away, silent._

_ Konoka didn't look at Setsuna again._

**o**

"Kyo Wallward and Konoka Konoe, I pronounce you husband and wife, uniting the House of Wallward and Konoe in holy matrimony."

"Together, may you find the strength to destroy the evils that plague our world and your Houses."

How wonderful, Setsuna thought as she watched the married couple walk down the aisle surrounded by the Wallward guards towards the church door, that Konoka could manage to fulfill her duty to her family and yet still find a man who she genuinely cared about.

How wonderful.

**o**

_"Setsuna, if you accept, I have another job for you."_

_ "I will, Headmaster."_

_ "I haven't told you what it is yet."_

_ "What job I do doesn't matter to me. I live to serve."_

_ Konoemon grunted, his white brows furrowing until they met above his nose as he peered at Setsuna, a painfully understanding quality in his stare. "As head of the Konoe family, I'm assigning you to guard our family heir. You are removed from the employ of Mahora Academy. Now, you are an employee of the Konoe."_

_ "Yes, sir."_

_ The old man watched her, then slid an officially sealed envelope across his desk. "This is my letter to the Wallward House, telling them that you are _my_ employee and not theirs."_

_ "Yes, sir."_

_ "So they cannot ever dismiss you from Konoka's service."_

_ Setsuna paused, her red eyes flashing over with a brief emotion before returning to their cool glassiness. "Yes, sir."_

_ "You will be her personal guardian. Even against her own desires or inclinations, you must protect Konoka at all costs. Let the Wallwards mumble about the Konoe dishonouring them, I don't care. Your only duty is Konoka." Konoemon stopped speaking and watched her. "Do you have any objections to your duty?"_

_ Setsuna rose and put her fists together, Yuunagi held out horizontally before her as she bowed deeply._

_ "No, sir." _

**o**

"Se—Setsuna-san, I will be going out this afternoon to inspect the wards again."

"Yes, ojou-sama." Setsuna bowed, her black hair falling forward in a dark wave, blending into the black of her suit. She still dyed it, even though she had forgone the contact lenses ever since…ever since. "I will arrange for your security detail."

"Alright," Konoka said quietly.

She had stopped asking Setsuna to call her Kono-chan. It surprised Setsuna how much it hurt, each time she said the title, and not hear Konoka protest. Ridiculous, she knew, since she was the one who always insisted on it in the past. Her constant refusals never hurt until Konoka stopped asking. But it still sent a jolt through her heart, and she wished that she could blurt it out. It wouldn't be that hard. Kono-chan. Kono-chan.

In the end, she couldn't. Now…she wasn't sure anymore _why_ she couldn't. Because it wasn't the proper thing to do. It wasn't the right thing to do.

Setsuna no longer cared why.

_Because it was too late._

**o**

_"Why are you doing this? Do you have some masochistic warrior thing, or are you just too much of a coward to fight for her?" Asuna slapped her, hard. Setsuna let her, not that she was admitting to the masochistic comment but because she deserved it. And Asuna had every right to be angry. She was the one who heard Konoka crying every night, after all. _

_ "How can you just let her go?"_

_ "Because he _does _make her happy."_

_ "She loves _you!_"_

_ Setsuna laughed hollowly. _

"_I know." _

**o**

By the time Setsuna realized that she could have fought, that she could have tried for both their happiness, it was too late.

To the side, a servant bowed. "Lady Wallward, shall I fetch—"

"There's no need. Setsuna-san will take care of me—of my security. All decisions will be in her hands."

"But…very well, my lady."

Konoka found and captured Setsuna's gaze easily, her brown eyes still entirely trusting but missing that innocent, happy aura. "I trust her with my everything."

**o**

_ "Secchan? Can…can you please stay with me? Stay with me, forever."_

_ "I promise."_

_ "B…Because I don't think that I'm strong enough to do it on my own. I want my friend to be there with me, because…you make me stronger, Secchan."_

_ "I promise that I'll always protect you."_

_**o**_

Despite anything Mana or Asuna said to her later, Setsuna didn't lie then. Because she promised to protect Konoka's body, her life and those of anyone else Konoka cared about. She never promised to protect Konoka's heart. Because Setsuna knew.

She knew that she would be the one breaking it.

**o**

Konoka's voice cut through Setsuna's thoughts to capture her attention immediately. "Is something wrong, S—Setsuna-san?" One of her hands dropped, as if she had raised it towards Setsuna's shoulder then let it fall short, empty.

Setsuna bowed her head, letting her loose hair fall to shield her face.

_Everything._

"Nothing, Ojou-sama."

**o**

_**Author's Note: If you like, you can take this as an angsty one-shot and be done with it =).**_

_**Or if you care about the circumstances around Konoka's marriage, around Setsuna's choice to remain Konoka's protector even though it's clearly breaking her heart…then wait for the **_**real **_**story to start! =D**_

_**This story follows mostly the manga canon, although parts of the Magical World arc may be ignored. Otherwise, I'll do my best to stay in canon! **_


	2. Chapter I

**Love and Duty Come in Chains**

Chapter 1

_Konoe-Wallward House, Kyoto_

_May 2, 2010_

"Asuna," Konoka called, bringing her fans together before her chest. "I'm trying the second variation of Divine Wind Restore, on Target #3."

Her friend nodded, shuffling her chair over the packed dirt lazily. "Good to go," Asuna yawned, waving a hand idly. Konoka didn't blame her for being bored—Asuna had waited for the hour that it took for Konoka to set up this particular trial, and she had gone through four trials earlier in the afternoon. Even the stoic Mana, standing to the side, thumbs hooked into her gun belt, actually looked visibly bored, although her sharp eyes never stopped scanning their surroundings keenly.

"You know, you really could have brought a manga or something to read," Konoka called out, judging the distance between her and her target. "It's really okay with me." She wanted to call out to Mana and…to Mana and tell her that she could really sit down and still guard her at the same time. But Konoka didn't feel comfortable trying to convince the mercenary Mana to relax.

_How cruel of you…you never would have hesitated with Set-chan._

Ah, part of her mind whispered, but now you do.

"How unprofessional that would seem!" Asuna shouted back, smiling as she reclined in her chair next to Target #3. "I'm under employ by the noble Konoe family, you know!"

"Asuna…" Konoka hated it whenever Asuna brought that up. That Asuna would even joke about being just an employee of her family. She didn't like any reminders that her friends were hired by her grandfather…that they were paid by her family.

Asuna narrowed her eyes, glints of blue and green flashing at Konoka from across the range, then she raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Konoka, give it your best shot. I'm here with my bucket of water ready." Playfully, she held up her bare, empty hands, ready for magic-cancelling.

A light emanated from Konoka's body, causing her robes to flutter and her hair to blow back as she concentrated on completing the spell. Konoka didn't really expect this spell to fix the problem her family had been working on for the past six months—but still, she hoped that at the very least, it could fix the instability in the physical structure of the Koyane Wards. That physical instability was more alarming at the moment than the weakening magical properties of the wards, since at least it would take an incredibly powerful mage or demon to pre-maturely break the magical wards. But at the moment, nearly any mildly powerful creature could break the stones that the wards were carved on, releasing ancient demons into the world.

The Fujiwara Clan had sealed those demons away in the past, and until last Halloween, the Koyane Wards had stood strong and invincible on the gateway to the demonic dimension the oni were imprisoned in. Indeed, the wards were so secure nearly everyone had forgotten about them, and even Konoka had only found out that her family was charged with the responsibility of protecting the wards six months ago.

Six months ago, when the age-long wards began to inexplicably fail.

And now it was up to her and Kyo to fix them. It was why the Konoe and the Wallwards united their families, after all.

Konoka took a breath, putting all of that out of her mind. Right now, she had to concentrate on her spellwork. Evangeline's voice echoed in her head, _Watch what you're doing, stupid girl! Do you want to blow up half of Japan?_ Konoka could imagine her saying, and she giggled before steeling herself.

The incantations came nearly automatically; she had rehearsed this spell so many times before. Konoka's eyes snapped open, and she carefully enunciated the last part of her new spell, a variation of the original healing scripture before snapping her fans forward to release her magic.

"Now!" She cried in warning to Asuna.

An explosion of rainbow light shot from Konoka towards the target, colliding with it and wrapping around the stone in coloured sheets that pulsed with white glows. Konoka ran over, squinting to see the effect of her spell on the cracked stone.

"It's working!" Asuna shouted in excitement, watching the stone glow and the cracks slowly receding along its surface.

Leaning forward, Konoka was about to inspect her spell closer when a small movement in the corner of her eye distracted her. Mana had moved in closer the moment Konoka had approached her new spell, but that wasn't what Konoka had noticed. She was so used to people moving around her that she didn't even notice anymore. No, there was only one person who never ceased to catch her eye.

Konoka wondered with startling pique if she should feel happy that Setsuna cared about her to worry, or if she should be annoyed that her best friend didn't have faith in Konoka's invented spells. Asuna had explained to Konoka the concept of a near and distant guard, and despite the logic of her and Mana's skill sets, Setsuna would always be the one patrolling in the distance, avoiding contact. Her childhood friend would only ever close in if she felt like Konoka would be in danger.

If it wasn't a spell that she had cast herself, Konoka would unquestioningly have been touched.

"It can't just heal the stone, it has to sustain the change," Konoka commented aloud, forcing herself to turn her attention back to her experiment. "I tried to add in a looping component to the healing magic, so that it won't—"

Suddenly, the stone pulsed, and Konoka leapt back as it started to vibrate ominously, shimmering with chaotic light.

"Get back!" She heard Mana shout, and things happened so fast they blurred together in Konoka's vision.

Asuna sprang from her chair and dove for the target stone, her hands outstretched to cancel out the spell.

Something slammed into Konoka from behind, catching her up in strong arms and pivoting her out of the way until she was entirely shielded from the blast zone.

A soft clunk sounded, and Konoka blinked, seeing the stone roll across the ground before crumbling anticlimactically into a small pile of gravel. Harsh breathing sounded in her ear, and Konoka instinctively tucked her cheek into her would-be saviour's shoulder. Her hands rose to touch a tense wrist before Konoka was suddenly released, making her stumble slightly in surprise.

"My apologies, Ojou-sama," Setsuna's quiet voice sounded from behind her. Konoka turned around to see Setsuna bent into a low bow before she straightened, her red eyes startling Konoka as they always did. It wasn't like Konoka cared about their colour! Set-chan was Set-chan…But her Set-chan's eyes were always so cold and sad and tired now.

"It's…it's nothing, Set…" Konoka paused, and took a breath. "Setsuna-san. Thank you for protecting me, in case Asuna didn't reach the spell in time."

Setsuna only bowed again, silently, before making her way back out to her previous position. Konoka watched her go, knowing that her disappointment was clear on her face and thankful that only her friends were there to see. It was hard to watch her dearest friend all day and yet fake indifference around the distant Setsuna and her husband's servants…

"Um, Konoka?" Asuna reminded her gently. "Your spell?"

"Yes," Konoka said, distractedly. "I think I overdid it…the Koyane wards are much stronger than my test targets and they'll likely be able to handle the healing loop…but I can't be sure. I'll have to do some more reading on it…"

"Konoka-san?" Mana spoke up now. "My shift ends in ten minutes. May I suggest that you relocate to within the house, to ensure your security?"

Glancing at her, Konoka caught Mana's eyes flicking sideways at Setsuna, then back at her with a slightly pleading expression. It took Konoka a moment to realize the hint. _That's right…Set-chan had been guarding me since this morning. She probably hasn't eaten all day._

"That sounds like a good idea," Asuna jumped in decisively. "Konoka, let's go to my room and discuss tomorrow's plans like planned?"

"Huh?" Konoka blinked, blushing as she accidentally gave away her utter lack of foreknowledge of that plan. But it's not like Mana or Setsuna would have fallen for that lame excuse anyways, so no harm done in the long run… "Sure. Mana-san, can you tell Set-chan that I'll be safe with Asuna in her room, and that both of you should get a paid night off?"

Agreeable as always when it came to money, Mana nodded. "I'll let Setsuna know."

_Take care of her for me, _Konoka wanted to tell Mana, but she held her tongue.

Asuna didn't have the same hesitation in speaking once they were in her room with the door closed and out of earshot. "Konoka, you have to just _talk _with her."

"I talk with her lots every day," Konoka answered obstinately, flopping unlady-like onto Asuna's bed. She tugged at the collar of her formal kimono, having let her Magister robes fade away.

Asuna glared at her, then sighed, sitting backwards on a chair and leaning her chin on the backrest. "Well, how are you feeling? I know that today didn't go as you hoped…"

"Can we please do something else?" Konoka pleaded, smiling weakly. She knew that the moment Kyo came home, it was back to discussions about the wards, or more about their new household details…and Konoka dreaded either.

Her old roommate laughed, bending over to scoop something up. "Want to play Mario Kart?" Asuna grinned, passing Konoka one of the controls.

Brightening, Konoka giggled, tying back her kimono sleeves so that she could move easier. "I hope you've been practising!" She teased.

Asuna hit the player box, letting the powering up music be her answer as she grinned wickedly. Soon they were both seated on the bed, furiously trying to force the other off the side of the track. Asuna's room was soundproofed—Konoka had no idea why, while Asuna and Mana had a snarky debate over whether it was a subtle insult or a compliment to Asuna's job as Konoka's secretary and research partner—and so they could play the game music as loud as they wanted to.

"Anyone going to come looking for you?" Asuna asked as she crashed into Konoka's Mario character, her thumbs mashing on her controller.

"I told Ethan-san that I would be researching all day, and to not be disturbed unless it was something important," Konoka replied as she quickly sent a row of bananas onto the track behind her, which Asuna began swerving around. The Wallward servant was Kyo's old friend and was excellent at keeping things in the large house running but terrible at making new decisions. Ethan would always need to check every change in routine with her personally, interrupting Konoka during the day often. Konoka liked him though, even if he seemed to hate Setsuna for some reason. "I've only really started researching the new healing spells this week, since we had to set up the house and all, so they won't think it's weird."

"Ha!" Asuna cried out triumphantly as she hit Konoka with a Koopa shell and cut past her around a bend. "So! How have the last few weeks been for you? I'm sorry I didn't call, it's unbearably tiring to sort out all the paperwork details of your life so that you can move cities…you're lucky that you don't have to deal with it yourself!"

"I wouldn't have to deal with it anyway, Asuna," Konoka said in amusement as she struggled to catch up, using one of her speed mushrooms to try and narrow the distance. "I grew up in Kyoto, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Okay, I've been here three days, and I have to say…does _everyone _act better-than-thou around here?"

"Asuna!" protested Konoka. "I'm sure that they don't mean it that way…the Wallwards are a little more…aware of status than we are. It's not surprising, since they're a pretty new family. Are they bothering you? Should I talk to Ethan-san about it?"

"Ah, don't do that!" Asuna said hastily, and her distraction cost her the lead as Konoka passed her. "Crap! No, I can live with it…they don't seem to take me very seriously though, and that pisses me off. I guess I'll just have to show them that I can do my job."

"You'll be great, don't worry!" Konoka let out a happy giggle when she crossed the finish line first. She immediately hit the start button to play again. "There's a great training yard here, and the library is just amazing! Kyo brought a lot of his personal library here, and I'm amazed at some of the books that he has. He told me that he has more on an electronic database, but I haven't had a chance to look yet."

Asuna glanced at the door nervously, even though she knew that no one could overhear them, and Konoka bit back a sigh, knowing the type of question that her friend was about to ask. "So, how's he treating you?"

Konoka hated being right about that kind of thing.

_Set-chan isn't here…you can tell the truth,_ Konoka reminded herself. It wasn't that she _wanted _to lie when Setsuna could hear her, or that she _had _to lie…Konoka just could never feel comfortable talking about Kyo when Setsuna was in earshot.

"He's okay…we didn't have a honeymoon or anything since he wanted to get to work on the wards as soon as possible." Konoka shrugged, feeling torn between disappointment and relief. "It's all…really confusing."

Asuna bumped her knee with hers sympathetically. "What's confusing?"

"Just…I _do _like him." She hung her head, biting back tears. Her Mario lost momentum and crashed into the side of the track, stopping while all the other characters whizzed by. Asuna hit pause and turned around, concerned.

Konoka bit her lip, shivering slightly. She smiled though, setting her game controller down carefully to hide her trembling. "He's a nice guy. He's really devoted to helping us out with the wards, and if I ask him for something he's really good at doing it for me. We like talking about books together." She trailed off, realizing how banal she sounded.

"Ah," Asuna said quietly, sadly, understandingly. Konoka knew that her friend could fill in the gaps herself.

_But he's not Set-chan._

_ But I don't _love _him._

**o**

_**Author's Note: Thanks to all the people who reviewed! Your interest and feedback is greatly appreciated. I know that the prologue was pretty jumpy, but hopefully Chapter 1 has made the conflict clearer =).**_

_**In case it's unclear, this story takes place while the main cast are 21 years old.**_


	3. Chapter II

Chapter 2

_May 3, 2010_

"Setsuna."

Setsuna glanced up and caught the envelope that Mana tossed at her one-handed. Immediately, from the weight she could tell what it was. "Thank you," she answered automatically.

Mana grunted and crossed her arms, eyeing the other girl sharply. "The other half is in your bank account already, as usual," she said dryly.

Konoemon had figured out a couple of weeks ago that when he sent Setsuna her monthly paycheck she would simply hand the whole thing to Mana without touching any of it herself. And when he sent her the portion of her pay agreed upon for Mana _separately_ from the small amount he insisted on reserving for her, Setsuna would pass both envelopes over to Mana without looking at either of them anyway. Finally, he had settled with sending Mana _both _the paychecks every month to ensure that they ended up where they belonged.

The money never mattered to Setsuna. It was only sensible for her to hire another guard for Konoka with it, since all she needed was food and a place to sleep, both of which were provided for her. The arrangement worked out well for everyone, since Konoemon couldn't hire a second guard for Konoka without causing tension between the Konoe and the Wallward, and Setsuna could put the monthly paycheck she never touched to good use in Mana. She trusted Mana with Konoka's life.

Although Setsuna was technically Mana's superior, the tan woman seemed surprisingly determined to prevent Setsuna from forgetting that they were friends. Mana had even managed to get Setsuna to spend her dutiful pocket money on something frivolous last weekend, a decorated fan that was the only adornment in their shared, Spartan quarters. Then again, Setsuna suspected that the thrifty Mana had wanted the fan herself, but knew that Setsuna would put it up on display for both of them. Setsuna wasn't sure, but the thought had made her chuckle anyway.

"I see." Setsuna slid the envelope of cash into her jacket pocket then returned to her sit-ups, feeling all her muscles warming up after a night's stiff sleep. These days, Setsuna found that it was easier to stand outside of Konoka and Kyo's bedroom door and doze against the doorframe than sleep in a bed. If Mana hadn't insulted her into going back to their quarters to sleep, Setsuna would probably have spent the night in the hallway anyways even though it was Mana's watch shift.

At least when she was outside their door, her hearing kept the rest of her brain from imagining. Imagining in her too-soft bed was a thousand times worse than standing silently in a cold hall without betraying any emotion.

Setsuna pulled herself up again, her stomach muscles quivering lightly with the effort. She let the throb of physical exertion push her troubling thoughts back into obscurity again. An extra 50 reps today, just to wipe the last of that heartbreak away.

"They're going out for lunch today," Mana said as she restocked her gun magazines, checking each bullet carefully before she slid it in. "You'll be the sole guard. I'm on stand-by duty this morning."

Setsuna froze, then flipped to her feet. "Were you? I can't remember the schedule—"

"I am."

"…I can pay you overtime," Setsuna offered desperately, reaching a hand to her jacket pocket. "If you'll be close guard for the day…" She couldn't spend today so close to Konoka. Not today.

"I'd rather have the day off," Mana drawled, and Setsuna winced, knowing that the gunslinger _knew _and was refusing to budge because she thought that it was for the better.

"Today's not a good day for me," growled Setsuna, frustrated and feeling her chest aching. Jerkily, she pulled her black suit jacket on and buttoned it up savagely.

"You have a job; the day shouldn't matter to you."

The words slipped out before Setsuna could stop herself. "_Fuck you_, Mana."

They glared at each other, the atmosphere tense even though neither of them were touching their weapons. Setsuna sighed first and rubbed her face, finger-combing her hair before picking up Yuunagi. "Sorry. Enjoy your day off."

"You should eat some breakfast before you go," Mana suggested with a raised eyebrow, her voice droll. "I think the lack of food has made you too unsettled to handle yourself professionally."

"I'll eat," muttered Setsuna as she opened the door. She wasn't a fool. But especially today, she had no appetite at all.

After dropping by the kitchen to secure a breakfast wrap and finishing it in two big bites, Setsuna walked through the large house towards the master bedroom. Luckily, it was still early in the morning, so much so that most of the servants were still in bed. Even on the best of days, Setsuna couldn't stand overhearing their gossip.

_"It seems the master and the lady had a good night last night, don't you think? Young love!"_

_ "If I was the master, I wouldn't only take the lady once in a while, I'd go at it every night…" Laughter._

Once upon a time, Setsuna would have hit whoever dared to speak of Konoka that way. But this wasn't long ago, and they weren't teenagers anymore…and she didn't have the sole right to Konoka anymore. Setsuna would just walk silently past the gossiping servants, trying to turn off her demonically keen hearing but failing every time.

Every time she heard them, a little more of her heart broke and turned to dust in the hollow inside her chest.

**o**

Konoka woke suddenly, disorientated. She thought for a moment that she was in a forest, lying on dying grass. Then she realized that she was in a bed, and wondered where Asuna was and why she hadn't been woken up by an early alarm clock and Asuna's ranting about Negi crawling into her bed again.

Then Konoka remembered where she was.

"Awake?"

"Yes," she said, stretching lightly and pulling herself up to look at her husband. To her surprise he was fully dressed and standing by the bed with a breakfast tray in his hands. "Oh I'm sorry, did I sleep in?"

Kyo set the tray down over her lap and straightened up, brushing his wayward hair from his glasses to hide his awkwardness. "No, I just woke up early. It's our one month anniversary, and when I asked Hazan she told me to—" He stopped and scratched his head sheepishly at the admission.

Konoka giggled, touched that he had asked his cousin for advice on what to do for her on their anniversary. "Thank you, Kyo, it's really sweet."

He grunted, and shuffled his feet. Too proper to pull at his neatly knotted tie, Kyo settled for blushing lightly and trying futilely to finger-comb his hair into behaving. "I heard that spell yesterday didn't go as you wanted?"

"No, I think that the magnitude was too large for the target pieces I made for the testing," Konoka said through a mouthful of pancakes. They tasted a little odd—the batter hadn't been mixed properly. But that just went to show that Kyo had actually made it himself, which made Konoka smile at him despite her pique that he had to bring up the wards at every opportunity. "I'll look it up tomorrow to make sure."

"As soon as possible would be good," Kyo nodded, walking over to their dresser and sighing as he picked up his Blackberry. He would get emails every five minutes, either from the Wallward Software company, from the mages he had researching the Koyane Wards or from his dragon of a grandmother, the Wallward family matriarch. Konoka swallowed instead of sighing as well at the thought of their lunch at the restaurant being interrupted by the constant beeping of his phone. "My research team has been really good about staying inconspicuous at the site, so it seems like so far no one unsavoury is the wiser. But sooner or later, someone's going to notice, and the physical flaw will be easy to exploit."

"I'll take care of it tomorrow," Konoka repeated, cutting into her scrambled eggs with exaggerated patience.

"Something that—" A knock at the door distracted him. The door opened and Setsuna stepped in, bowing sharply.

"Sir, there is a parcel downstairs for you."

"Ah, that would be the rune text I borrowed from Takamichi-sama," Kyo said happily, striding for the door before catching himself up and coming back over to the bed to give Konoka a kiss. Reminding herself to relax, Konoka still couldn't help sneaking a glance at the doorway while they kissed. It wasn't fair of her to tense up every time she was in the same room with both Kyo and Setsuna, but Konoka couldn't help making that reflexive wince.

But Setsuna wasn't there anymore.

"I'll see you at lunch?" When she smiled and nodded at him, Kyo kissed her hand and left, shutting the door behind himself.

Konoka shoved another forkful of pancakes and eggs into her mouth. "Great," she muttered to herself, feeling both good and bad, but overall mildly let down. "I wonder if Asuna is up yet?"

She needed to relieve some stress, and Konoka didn't think that the rest of the household would appreciate her playing Super Mario complete with loud, pounding music and sound effects at this early hour. And Konoka desperately needed someone to tell her that they loved her, as a friend or anything else, and for her to be able to look them in the eyes and truly believe their words.

**o**

Setsuna slammed her forehead into the wall.

And she did it again.

And again.

_God, what's wrong with you? What happened to all your resolve and promises? _Setsuna growled and drove her head into the wall again. This time she heard an ominous crack in the wood. _You _can't _mess things up for Konoka now! Remember why you did in the first place!_

When she had been guarding Konoka earlier that morning, her charge had somehow convinced Setsuna that she should stand guard inside Asuna's room. Setsuna hadn't thought much of it then, simply leaning Yuunagi against the wall and repositioning her katana, the better weapon for a smaller enclosed space. She had passively watched Asuna and Konoka engage in a match, both of them uncharacteristically broodingly silent as they played, the only sounds in the room coming from the tv speakers.

Seeing Konoka without a pretence of a smile on her face was just painful.

Seeing Konoka…not faking, exactly, but only passively content with little things instead of shining with general joy, was nearly unbearably agonizing for Setsuna. Because then the demon-girl would start thinking of _what ifs _and _what could have beens,_ both useless practices that distracted her from her duty to protect her ojou-sama.

Sometime during their gaming, Asuna had cited a need to go take a shower. And somehow during the process when Asuna was exiting her room, Setsuna had found herself holding a game controller and caving in to Konoka's innocent entreaties to finish the game with her.

_Why did you give in? Doing such familiar things with Kono-chan, you're only making things worse for both of you! _Setsuna started to bring her forehead into the wall again but stopped herself when she saw the indentation and cracks in the planks. She scowled and turned around, crossing her arms again and tried to affect the stoic bodyguard routine.

_Konoka's married._

_ You're just a servant now…it's too soon for friendship, you know it, so soon after…_

BAM!

"Um, Setsuna-san?"

Setsuna's eyes snapped open and she glanced sideways in embarrassment from where her head had smashed into the wooden wall. Konoka had jerked open her bedroom door and was blinking in confusion at the sight of Setsuna and the broken wall.

"I'm sorry, Ojou-sama!" Setsuna stuttered, off-guard and stumbling back, bowing and trying to ignore the hole in the wall. Then she straightened again and froze, staring.

Konoka felt a jolt in her stomach when she saw Setsuna's red eyes widen and her pale guardian freeze and fall silent. Konoka wasn't vain, but she knew that her red dress and adorned hair made her look good.

From the look on Setsuna's face, Konoka felt herself blushing and growing warm—the open admiration and burning desire in Setsuna's intent stare made Konoka's skin prickle with excitement. At the same time, she felt something comforting and warm pour into her chest, sending her stomach into giddy twirls.

_She _does _still love me,_ Konoka thought to herself in miserable triumph.

_Wanting you isn't the same as loving you,_ a nastier part of her whispered back.

"That's alright," Konoka said, ignoring the scandalized look from the maid who had helped her with her dressing, and who was giving Setsuna a disapproving glower. Konoka hoped that the maid hadn't noticed Setsuna's momentary lapse—the last thing she needed was more animosity between her staff and her best friend. Pointedly overlooking the odd indentation in the wall, Konoka slid her hand onto Setsuna's upper arm, feeling the other girl tense. "Will you escort me to the car? I'm pretty sure Kyo will just meet us directly there."

Setsuna bowed once more, carefully keeping a proper distance between them. Her expression had gone impassive again. "It will be my pleasure, Ojou-sama."

**o**

Setsuna held the door for the long-legged Kyo Wallward to climb in, catching a glimpse of him sliding over to Konoka before she shut the door firmly, the black glass blocking them from sight. She looked up once to check that the second limo with the Wallward guards was ready to follow before she got into the passenger seat.

A young woman watched her fold herself into the car with a grin. "I'm amazed that you can fit that in here so easily," Hazan Wallward said, tilting her head at how Setsuna had eased Yuunagi into the cramped cab space. "Have you ever caught it on doorways or anything?"

Setsuna ignored that, although she did smirk briefly in response. "We're ready to go."

"Alrighty!" Hazan turned on the ignition and pulled out of the gates, humming idly as they merged into the main road. She took a hand off the steering wheel to adjust her hat, and glanced sideways at Setsuna. "Hm, you look better."

"What?" Setsuna asked. Honestly, she knew that she probably looked awful—from the stress of being reminded about all the things Setsuna knew that she couldn't change.

"You had the nastiest cut on your wrist a few days ago," Hazan explained, tapping below her thumb. "It's completely gone now."

"So it is," Setsuna said shortly.

Hazan hummed in mild acquiescence. Changing the topic, she said, "Kyo told me that you and Konoka-sama have been friends since you were little."

Setsuna closed her eyes, breathing lightly as she tried to sort out what kind of response to give to that statement. What did Kyo mean when he had told Hazan that? Carefully, she answered, "The Shinmeiryuu assigned me to her when we were young. Eishun-sama took me in before that. Yes, I've known her for some time."

"You guys must have been cute as kids," Hazan grinned as they pulled up to a stoplight. She took the time to roll the window down and light a cigarette, exhaling politely outside instead of within the car. "I've been with Kyo since we were little too. Ethan and I are the only people who could make him drop his nerd-boy act to actually relax, you know?" She tapped the ash off the end of her cigarette and stuck it back in her mouth as the light changed to green, accelerating accidentally with a rough jerk.

"A fighter should take care of her body," Setsuna commented.

"Right back at you," Hazan replied, her eyes settling on Setsuna's face.

Refusing to be discomforted, Setsuna only shrugged and shifted in her seat, stretching out her legs. To her displeasure, she hadn't grown much since high school, and although she didn't need the physical height to help her in fights, the added intimidation bonus being tall would have given was missed. Mana still liked to tease her about it some days. "I'm sure the young sir acts differently around those he cares about."

"Interesting—you don't call him the "young master"? Everyone else does."

In a tone that was angrier than she had intended, Setsuna said, "K—Ojou-sama is my only mistress." Internally Setsuna winced, knowing that she had just given the teasing Hazan a perfect opening to throw in something dirty.

To her surprise, Hazan's next words were serious and mildly imploring. "My cousin…he really isn't a bad guy, you know?"

Setsuna put a hand on Yuunagi just below where the smooth sheath rested against her shoulder. "I never thought that he was."

"No," Hazan agreed. After a pause, she continued, "but you're on Konoka-sama's side, aren't you?"

"The well-being of my Ojou-sama is my sworn duty."

All Hazan did was to give Setsuna the same sad, knowing look that so many of Setsuna's friends wore when they looked at her nowadays. Coming from a near stranger, a spike of hollow anger rose inside her until Setsuna caught herself using a quick meditation technique that her sensei had taught her. Calmly, Setsuna pulled out her sunglasses from a breast pocket and put them on, turning to look out the tinted windows.

She didn't care if it was rude to leave Hazan hanging on the end of their conversation—even through her dark shades Setsuna didn't trust that her expression wouldn't confirm the implications in Hazan Wallward's sympathetic gaze.

They could all speculate as much as they liked, but Setsuna wasn't going to prove it to them.

There was too much at stake.

And Setsuna had too much to atone for.

**o**

October 31, 2009

_"Not so fast, Kono-chan!" Setsuna protested as her friend dragged them deeper into the woods. Setsuna clutched at Yuunagi and scanned the forest shadows nervously. Konoka was holding onto one of her hands, so she would have to use a different draw to get Yuunagi out of its sheath…would that be fast enough for—_

_ "OOOMPH!"_

_ Konoka had spun around and glomped her, giggling as she kissed Setsuna's cheek, who promptly flushed red. Knowingly, she teased, "Set-chan, you worry too much!" Beaming and with utter trusting conviction, Konoka said happily, "I'm perfectly safe with you."_

_ "Kono-chan…" Setsuna blushed, not knowing how to respond to that, although a warm ball of contentment settled in her stomach. She was glad that she had let—_let? As if she could have refused!—_Konoka talk her into dressing up as a samurai again for Halloween. As Setsuna had hoped, Konoka had gleefully dressed up as the beautiful, matching princess, and spent the whole time at their class reunion Halloween party pressed against Setsuna's side. The whole night was agonizingly glorious, and more than once Setsuna had to resist the urge to spin around and pull Konoka to her and just…_

_ From the wicked looks she had gotten from Kazumi, Haruna and Asuna, Setsuna knew that she hadn't been successful at hiding the impulse at all. But she didn't care much anymore and just smiled sheepishly in reply to their giggles._

_ After holding their hug for a few more seconds Konoka broke away, smiling. "Come on, I want to show you something!"_

_ Fondly, Setsuna sighed and followed her obediently. A few minutes later, they entered a clearing in the woods. Konoka tugged her along, but Setsuna stiffened, her senses screaming._

_ Something wasn't right here. _

**o**

"Is everything alright around the house?" Kyo asked as he waited for Konoka to begin eating before picking up his fork. "Do you need me to move anything again?"

"It's fine," Konoka replied as she tried to smoothly cut into her fish with the western style knife and fork. "We've finished setting up the furniture last week. Everyone seems to be getting used to the flow of things."

"That's good." Kyo blinked. "May I help?"

It took Konoka a few moments to realize he was indicating her fish fillet, and she gratefully passed her plate over. "Thanks, Kyo. If you have some time tomorrow, could you…" she hesitated, wringing her hands under the tablecloth. "Could you show me some of the electronic books you have?"

"Ah, do you need them for your research?" Kyo grimaced. "I'm sorry, I'll arrange for—"

"I don't need them for research," Konoka corrected him. She twisted the end of the cloth in her fingers. It was all so confusingly painful…Konoka made sure not to glance sideways. From the corner of her eye she could see Setsuna's polished shoes and pinstripe gray pants. Putting that aside, Konoka tried to find the right words to convey her meaning. "I just…it would be nice if we could just spend some time together, Kyo."

Her hapless husband looked mildly puzzled. "But we spend time together already?"

_Not just as Kyo and Konoka, _Konoka thought tiredly, laying her hands on her red silk lap. _Always as Wallward and Konoe._ "Please?"

He passed her plate back over, the fish cut into equal sized pieces. "Of course," he said anxiously, then winced when a buzzing sound interrupted them. "Excuse me…" He checked his Blackberry. Konoka sat back with a small sigh, poking listlessly at her food and patiently waiting for Kyo to finish checking his messages.

She leaned her cheek on one hand, looking sideways at her silent guardian. Setsuna was staring blankly off into space, pointedly not focusing anywhere where she might accidentally make eye-contact with Konoka. Some days, Konoka was elated where Mana and Setsuna's guard rotation put Setsuna as close guard.

But other days, it just made a hard day harder. It hurt enormously when her Set-chan wouldn't even look at her—and Konoka wanted to just touch her, a hand on the sleeve or back, just to remind herself…But she couldn't.

It wouldn't be fair to Set-chan.

So Konoka would just put on another smile and look away.

"Ah, Konoka, that was Grandmother…apparently, they've arranged for a family gathering tomorrow," Kyo told her as he finally put his Blackberry back into his suit pocket. "They're asking us to present our collected information on the Koyane Wards to both honoured families."

"That doesn't give us much time to organize all our data," Konoka frowned. "And it's so sudden…I wonder if something happened?"

"Maybe they got more information on the Wards," Kyo suggested, sipping from his glass. "Konoemon-sama had mentioned to me that he was looking into the family records to see what the previous Ward Guardians had written about their duty."

"He didn't tell me that!" exclaimed Konoka, putting her fork down in surprise. "Grandpa told me that he had sent me all his books on the Koyane Wards!"

"He did," Kyo explained. "He's looking in the private journals of your ancestors, and those documents can't leave the Kanto Magic Association." He noted her expression and added, "Do you want to read them yourself?"

"Maybe sometime," Konoka admitted. "I know that we don't have much time right now, but maybe in a few days. Daddy and Grandpa never told me much about my heritage before my magic awakened, so I'm always curious about my ancestors."

"I think they just wanted you to live a carefree childhood," Kyo said. He twisted his ring containing the Wallward family crest absently around his finger, his brow lightly furrowed. "So you wouldn't feel a pressure to live up to any expectations but your own," he finished, smiling and raking his hair back out of his face again.

Konoka let her gaze drop onto her lap, glancing at her own ring. "I _am _grateful," she said softly. "Kyo—"

"Sir!" Setsuna spoke suddenly, her hand on her earpiece and her voice urgent. "Ojou-sama—one of the Koyane Ward stones is cracking!"

**o**

_"Ne, Set-chan, did you know that there's a legend about this clearing?"_

_ "I didn't, Kono-chan." Setsuna set Yuunagi on the ground and closed her free hand over its hilt. Even though her action had brought them to a halt Konoka didn't seem to mind, continuing to speak excitedly._

_ "Well, do you see the dragon there?"_

_ Following Konoka's pointing finger, Setsuna saw a stone dragon in the middle of the clearing through a gap in the circle of monoliths encircling the area. Teeth curled in a grin, the dragon coiled upon itself, its four paws clutching the corners of a gemstone mirror. If she wasn't getting such a foreboding sensation, Setsuna would have wondered why no one had tried to steal it yet. But every bit of her was screaming to stay away._

_ "The mirror in its claws is supposed to be magical," Konoka told her, squeezing Setsuna's hand. "They say…" She blushed, and smiled sweetly at Setsuna before continuing shyly, "They say that if you look into it, you can see the image of your true love standing beside you. Isn't that kind of interesting, Set-chan?"_

_ "Interesting," Setsuna replied absently as she tried to calm herself to figure out why she was so unsettled. It was a harder task than she expected, since the warmth of Konoka's hand in hers was incredibly distracting. _

_ "It's just an urban legend, but wouldn't it be fun to go look?"_

_ "No!" Setsuna said in alarm. She blurted, "I don't care about that." Anxiously, she scanned the woods again—even now, there were still insurgents in the Kansai Magic Association, and Setsuna could never forget the near-disaster of their field trip to Kyoto. She wished that they had dragged Negi and Asuna along—the three of them together would have been enough against any enemy who might want to hurt Konoka again._

_ "You don't care?" Konoka asked, her tone different from before._

_ "It's not worth it," Setsuna replied, knowing that she should shake her hand free of Konoka's to be ready to draw her sword at any moment. Something here was seriously bothering her… To her surprise, Konoka released her hand and moved away, her shoulders slumped. "Konoka?" Setsuna yelped when she saw Konoka walking towards the circle of stones and lunged forward, grabbing her friend's wrist. "Konoka! What are you doing?"_

_ "You might not care," Konoka said, her voice teary and angry at the same time. "But I do." She pulled free and continued walking, stepping between two stones and continuing towards the dragon statue at the center._

_ "Kono-chan!" Setsuna cried, moving forward and coming to an abrupt halt at the edge of the circle. The moment Konoka had moved between the stones Setsuna's heart had nearly stopped in fear, making her feel silly that Konoka continued past completely fine. But still she twitched, sweating. "Kono-chan, stop!"_

_ Konoka whirled around, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "I always stop! Whenever we hold hands or hug or touch each other! Well, Set-chan, what if I don't _want _to stop?"_

_ "Huh?" Setsuna gaped, completely baffled at the sudden outburst. She had a feeling that they weren't talking about the same thing anymore…_

_ "Set-chan, you're so dense sometimes!" Konoka cried out, tears sliding down her cheeks. The sight of her tears made Setsuna inhale sharply, willing to do anything to take that sad expression away from her precious Konoka. Staring at her, Konoka shouted wetly,_

_ "I don't want us to be just friends anymore!" _

**o**

Setsuna didn't wait for Hazan to stop the limousine as they pulled up towards the Koyane Ward clearing—she threw open the door and jumped out, tumbling into a controlled roll and racing forward, Yuunagi unsheathed at her side. She could see the cause for the cracking ward ahead, and put on a burst of speed.

"**Hyakuretsuouka Zan!**" Setsuna slashed Yuunagi into the midst of the dozen demons gathered around one of the monoliths, slicing through two of them before they could react. Setsuna flipped and spun around, but the demons had scattered.

Cat demons! Setsuna let out a yell and pursued the closest demon, dodging its roaring pounce and drove her sword into its chest as it leapt at her. Her momentum and power were stronger, and the shocked demon was flung backwards, howling as it fell and Setsuna's blade came free with a bloody splash as she continued running ahead. She had surprised the next demon with her unfaltering charge and it sprang sideways to dodge her strike, warier as it began to circle Setsuna.

She sensed another one approaching from behind her and dove, letting the demon pass overhead and gutted it in the same move. The dying cat yowled as it struck one of the stones, the runes on the monolith lighting up with an electric sizzle and a burst of magic exploded out, blowing the demon's body into the woods. _At least the Wards' defences were still working..._

_Where was—_too late! Setsuna was knocked off her feet as the first cat-demon tackled her, its teeth striking at her throat with a snarl.

BLAM!

Grunting, Setsuna tossed the beast's carcass off of her, snatching up Yuunagi again. Her earpiece crackled, and Mana's voice came on, the woman's tone dry and full of humour.

"I expect overtime pay for coming in during my off-duty time."

"Ojou-sama?" Setsuna demanded, lunging at another demon while bringing Yuunagi into a series of crescent strikes.

"Kyo has her and his researchers in a barrier," Mana assured her, every other word punctuated with a loud gunshot. "She's tending to the wounded."

Flashes of magic further away told Setsuna that Kyo and his uninjured mages were entering the fight. Combined, they weren't even close to Negi's level when her former sensei had been a ten-year-old, so Setsuna didn't have incredible faith in their abilities. She needed to end this as quickly as possible.

Nimbly she pivoted out of the way of her opponents attack and slashed out, cutting into the beast's flank before pressing her offensive while the cat tried to retreat.

"**Raimeiken!**" Setsuna shouted, driving her lightning-infused sword into the demon's side. She jerked her blade out of the dead demon and cast a quick look around. She had killed five, and Mana had sniped four from her position in one of the tall trees overhead. The mages were finishing off one, which left two more unaccounted for—

"There!" Kyo bellowed, pointing across the field. The two remaining cat demons had snuck along the perimeter of the wards during the fight and were now galloping for the shelter of the woods.

If any escaped, the secret that the Koyane Wards were failing would be out for the whole demon world to know. Already, one of the stones was nearly cracked through, the presence of the demons having sped up its disintegration.

"Set-chan, stop them please!" Konoka cried out desperately.

**o**

_Setsuna gaped at her friend, her eyes wide._

_ Konoka looked back at her, then silently turned around and continued walking._

_ "Wait!" Setsuna stammered, stumbling forward a half-step before stopping again. She couldn't quite make herself cross that invisible line on the ground, even though she wanted to rush over to Konoka and sweep her up in her arms and hold her close until all this confusion went away. But something prevented her from moving… "Kono-chan! Stop, please?"_

_ Konoka was nearly at the statue now, and for a moment Setsuna was terrified that Konoka had looked into the mirror. But she stopped and turned to look back at Setsuna, her eyes still teary. _

_ "If you really want me to, Set-chan, come stop me yourself."_

_ Setsuna froze._

_ She didn't believe in urban legends, but if the person you saw reflected beside you was your true love, then damnit, Setsuna wanted to be beside Konoka…_

_ But every instinct in her was howling to grab Konoka and run, that it wasn't safe here…_

_ A sob broke from Konoka, and her brown-haired charge began to turn around._

_ With a single sharp movement Setsuna leapt past the stones, running towards Konoka. For an instant it felt like a web of magical strands caught like spider silk across her body, then it snapped away, letting Setsuna through. She paused, let out a self-deprecating sigh, and began walking forwards. "Kono—"_

_ And the dark clearing exploded with light._

**o**

At that cry, Setsuna gritted her teeth and put on a burst of speed, calling out her wings to propel her into the sky. She swooped towards the ward circle, knowing that her only chance of making it to them in time was to fly through the clearing and cut the demons down before they could vanish into the woods. Almost there…

Suddenly her wings crumpled, and Setsuna screamed as she hit a barrier that burned through her feathers and sizzled in her veins like bolts of lightning. Numbly, she felt herself falling, a second agonizing sensation running through her body when she hit the dirt in a mess of limp limbs.

_GET UP!_ Her inner warrior shrieked, and Setsuna rolled to her feet, Yuunagi's tip dragging shamefully against the ground for a few feet before she could force into her muscles the strength to lift her sword and run around the ward circle to reach the other side, panting with the strain. But the aftershock of whatever had hit her was too strong—Setsuna's legs gave out and she hit the ground again, sending up a spray of earth and dead leaves before sliding to a halt.

Gunshots told her that Mana was still shooting down the escapees, and Setsuna prayed that the mercenary would get them both. She herself couldn't move; every inch of her burned, as if her body was trying to tear itself into pieces. Her wings especially spasmed uncontrollably—if Setsuna couldn't actually see that they were intact, she would have thought that the bones had snapped in a dozen places from the agony that every movement caused.

But none of that compared to the anguish flooding through her as she lay helplessly in the dirt and loam.

_So I _was _right after all…_Setsuna mourned, gasping as a choking despair spread through her.

**o**

_Magic erupted around them, runes flashing into being along the stones and in the ground. The dragon's eyes flared, and flickers oozed into the surface of the mirror, reaching outwards…_

_ "KONO-CHAN!" Setsuna dove, her wings exploding from her back. The effort was incredibly hard and painful for some reason, but none of that mattered. She caught Konoka around the waist before those flickers could touch her friend and beat her wings hard, trying to get some lift. _

_ A stray strand of magic crackled beside them, its whip-like tip barely missing them before it dissipated. Setsuna didn't want to find out what kind of magic was being released the hard way, and she grunted, flapping with all her strength._

_ "What's going on?" Konoka cried out, wrapping her arms around Setsuna's neck and keeping still so that Setsuna could dodge the sparking magical shots without being thrown off balance. _

_ "I don't—" Setsuna began, then it happened._

_ A beam of magic fired from the dragon's mouth, striking them squarely._

_ Or more precisely, impacting Konoka dead center._

_ "KONO-CHAN!" _

_ The impact knocked Setsuna out of the air, turning the world into a dizzying mess of colours and whistling air and the feeling of Konoka's arms tight around her, with her ojou-sama's voice shouting in her ear, "I'm alright! I'm alright!" Setsuna didn't know if it was true or a reassuring lie, but she spread her wings out, trying to catch enough wind to carry them out of range of the stone circle._

_ If Konoka was still alive, Setsuna _will _make sure that they make it out alive!_

_ "ARGH!" She screamed, drawing on the strength buried inside her, the strength that Setsuna had always been afraid and ashamed of. It was enough for her to beat her wings laboriously in their backwards fall, moving them slowly towards the outer edge of the ward._

_ Not enough! A hard grey surface rushed at them, and Setsuna curled around Konoka, pulling Konoka's head against her chest protectively. They struck one of the giant stones hard enough for Setsuna to feel her ribs crunch just as a deafening crack sounded._

_ "SET-CHAN!" Konoka shrieked, clearly fearing that Setsuna had broken her back from the terrifying sound._

_ It was Setsuna's turn to shout, "I'm alright!" before they both crashed into the dirt in a tangle of limbs and wings just outside the circle of wards. Abruptly the rampant magic vanished, leaving the forest dark and silent once more._

_ Konoka let go of Setsuna's neck just to grab her around the waist, feeling her for injuries before Setsuna caught her up in a tight hug._

_ Struggling, Konoka protested fiercely, "Set-chan, I need to make sure you're alright!"_

_ "You're okay," Setsuna whispered, crushing Konoka against her, ignoring the pain in her ribs that motion caused. "I saved you, you're okay…"_

_ Firmly, Konoka hugged her back, kissing her on the lips then burrowing her face into Setsuna's neck. "You'll always save me, Set-chan." _

_ All Setsuna could do was hold Konoka to her, feeling both of their hearts pounding. Before her, a jagged fissure snaked up the ward stone, the gouge splitting the carved runes on the ancient stone into pieces._

_ Setsuna stared at the crack, feeling her heart sink into her stomach. _

**o**

"Eight. Nine."

Two more demon carcasses were carried over to the pyre. Setsuna watched dully, not inclined to help even if she could actually rise and not stumble. The Wallward guards had simply hovered back during the fight, unsure what to do against demonic opponents, while Setsuna and Mana had charged into the battle. It only served to prove her fears that none of the Wallward guards could properly protect Konoka.

_Any excuse to make you believe you're needed, huh?_

Another pair of guards dragged over a body, this time in pieces. Setsuna grimaced and glanced once at Konoka, her heart sinking at the gentle healer fighting to contain her horror at the scene. She looked down again.

She couldn't bear it if Konoka turned that horrified gaze upon _her._

She would deserve it.

"Ten." Kyo counted aloud, his fists on his hips.

"Eleven," Mana said from across the clearing, her rifle held in a relaxed grip and a dead demon at her feet.

"That's all of them," one of the guards said.

"Check again!" Kyo shouted, glaring.

"Kyo…" Konoka tried to say, turning from the researcher mage she had just healed, but he cut her off with a brisk gesture.

"There were twelve of them!" He yelled, pacing and tugging at his hair in agitation. "Check again!"

"Sir, we checked!" The smarter guards and researchers had begun to piece things together and were turning dark looks on Setsuna, their faces full of disbelief and disapproval. Setsuna sighed and lowered her head, accepting their anger. They were right, anyway.

Snarling in rage, Kyo whirled upon Setsuna. "You let one of them get away! How could you?"

"Don't shout at her!" Konoka said angrily, moving towards Setsuna with her fans out.

Setsuna shook her head, wishing she could stand to face Kyo's accusations but her knees were still trembling and her guts wouldn't stay still. Kyo ignored Konoka and continued to rant, a tone of desperation escaping in his voice.

"You let one get away—and now all the demons will know! They'll know about the failing wards, and while they know how to break them, we still have no idea how to fix them at all!"

**o**

_**Author's Note: And the plot finally moves along! **_

_**Next chapter has some more characters coming in as they make a trip to Mahora!**_


	4. Chapter III

Chapter 3

_May 4, 2010_

_Train from Kyoto to Mahora_

"For the last time, Asuna," Konoka said, irritation filtering into her voice, "It was all just bad luck—whether you were there or not, it probably would have happened anyways, okay? We didn't really think that we could hide the broken Koyane Wards for very long, so stop the guilt-trip!"

She regretted her outburst when she saw Asuna check herself, her expression changing from self-recrimination to puzzlement and concern for Konoka. "Okay, okay…" Asuna sat back in her seat, choosing not to question her, and Konoka was grateful of that. "I mean, if Setsuna and Mana had trouble with them, then I probably couldn't have helped that much."

"That's not true," Konoka sighed, and leaned her head against the window pane. They were on the train to Mahora, and while the compartment wasn't rented out to them, most passengers took one look at the badly concealed weapons cases that Setsuna and Mana carried with them and wisely chose to sit in other compartments, giving them all a measure of privacy. "Let's just…concentrate on other things now."

Asuna raised an eyebrow, then glanced at Setsuna, who was sitting at the first row of seats by the door. Since they were at the head of the train, it was the only entrance or exit. Even so, Asuna just gave Konoka a look and tilted her head.

Yes, they both knew how unnaturally good Setsuna's hearing was.

"Are you looking forward to seeing—Mahora again?" Konoka asked instead. She had nearly slipped up on the surprise!

"It would be nice to see Eva-chan again," Asuna grinned, propping her feet up on the seat across from her. "I wonder if we'll have time to have a match?"

"You don't have to attend the meeting with Kyo and I, so you should have lots of free time," Konoka giggled somewhat enviously.

"I wish Negi were there, though," Asuna said wistfully, and Konoka just smiled. "Last letter he sent me said that he was still in Wales, working on gateports and other research stuff he told me was classified."

"It would be fun to have everyone together again," Konoka agreed, leaning her head back against the seat to try and nap before they got there. "School was so fun and easy."

She tried very hard not to glance at Set-chan.

At least Mana and Asuna pretended not to notice.

**O**

"Setsuna-san!"

Hearing the sudden sound, Setsuna's hand went to Yuunagi's hilt, then she relaxed and smiled, waving back. "Negi-sensei!"

A proper gentleman, Negi bounded over and shook Setsuna's hand, but his unbridled delight kept the greeting from being too formal. He startled a little when he looked at her face—everyone did when they looked her in the eyes.

_Even Konoka._

Demon red, and ice-cold even when she smiled, Setsuna knew.

He recovered quickly. "Ah, you're here first?"

"Yes, I'm just surveying the location before Ojou-sama and the rest of them arrive," Setsuna told him. Truthfully, there was no need for her to have rushed ahead, since with Negi and Evangeline at Mahora, there was no danger to speak of that could possibly hurt Konoka. But it made for a good excuse to stay away from the main delegation. "Did you just arrive?"

"No, I got here yesterday," Negi chattered. He looked just the same as when he had taken aging pills, but there was a way he carried himself that showed that his real age matched his body, rather than using it as a disguise. "I managed to finish up the barrier spells I was developing before I took a flight here, so at the very least there will be _some _good news today. How are you and Konoka-san and Mana-san and Asuna? She still doesn't know I'm here, right?"

"No, she should be delightedly surprised to see you," she replied with a smile. "Asuna still has trouble getting along with the servants, but she's been enjoying her work. Mana is a great help. And Ojou-sama has been…busy."

Right then the rented limos began pulling in through Mahora's gate, prompting Setsuna to turn serious. She bowed deeply. "Negi-sensei, I turn my charge over to your protection."

"I promise to protect her while she is in my care," he said solemnly, his simple words accompanied by a determined glint in his glasses. Then he gave her a worried look. "But Setsuna-san, I really think—"

"NEGI!" Asuna's scream cut him short, and Setsuna quickly ducked out as the redhead tackled their former teacher, both of them erupting into a lively greeting full of loud shouting and heartfelt affection. Setsuna sidled along the shadows in the main path, Yuunagi hung over one shoulder, as the sounds of Asuna berating Negi for not telling her that he would be present faded behind her.

She was happy to see Negi, but it was even better that he was attending the same meeting as Konoka. Asuna wouldn't likely have the patience to attend the whole meeting and Setsuna knew that there was no way she could manage to keep a strong face so close around Konoka. Not with her nerves so raw and her self-control in shreds after the disaster at the Koyane Wards.

Negi could take care of Konoka.

She had come to that conclusion once before.

Half of her wished that he could stay so that she could go. And the other half of her wanted things to stay the way they were, every agonizing and heartwrenching moment.

At least now, Setsuna had a purpose in Konoka's life.

Half of her wanted freedom and the other half willingly bore the torture.

And a very, very small part of her…

_Why are you even thinking this? _Setsuna growled. She broke into a run, letting the physical exertion drive her tormentous thoughts away. Her thoughts and emotions faded into a pleasant haze as she forced herself to go faster, whizzing through the campus towards the main administrative building. This early, the students were still in class, so Setsuna allowed herself her top speed, racing up steps and passing like a blur across the ground until she halted, gasping outside the headmaster's office.

She panted, then straightened and rapped on the door. "Sir, it's Sakurazaki."

"Come in, Setsuna."

"Pardon my intrusion." Konoemon's office hadn't changed over the years, except for a few more photo frames on his shelves. Setsuna kept her gaze averted from them.

"Sir, Ojou-sama and Kyo Wallward have arrived. They are being escorted by Mana and Negi-sensei to the conference room, where Negi-sensei will temporarily take up close-guard duties while Mana will be stationed outside in the hall."

"I'm sure you have everything taken care of," Konoemon interrupted her, waving a hand. "I have no doubts in your diligence, Setsuna."

"You honour me too much, sir."

He hmphed, looking wryly amused at her formality. "How has my granddaughter settled into her new household?"

"They love her," Setsuna said. "She's kind to them, but they know that she is strong and smart."

Konoemon made another ambiguous sound, stroking his long moustache. "And how about you and Mana?"

"We work separately from the other servants. It is an arrangement that suits us all." She couldn't quite hide her exasperation when she said, "The Wallward guards are efficient at normal bodyguard routines, but they aren't much use in a fight."

"I see. Then it is fortunate that you and Mana—ah, and Asuna, I suppose—are there to protect Konoka."

Sometimes, Setsuna had to wonder how much Konoemon approved of his grandson-in-law, since the old man never seemed to refer to him at all. But then again, maybe the headmaster was just keeping their conversations strictly business—only Konoka was Setsuna's business. "We'll do our best, sir."

Konoemon nodded approvingly, then changed topics, adopting a more familiar tone. "I heard you've made an appointment with Shizuna-san? Is everything alright?"

"Yes, I only have a few questions for her."

Setsuna shifted her weight once under the headmaster's keen eyes as he observed her without speaking. She supposed that he'd had many years to work on his patient stare that was often rewarded with confessions of wrong-doing from nervous students. It was frightfully effective, but Setsuna wasn't lying. Sort of.

Still, she broke first. "Sir, is there anything else you wish for me to report on?"

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Now, there were many levels she could answer that with…and Setsuna couldn't bear asking Konoemon to be more specific, nor could she avoid walking into his verbal trap in some way. "I lived through it," she chose to say in the end. "I'm living now."

"Sometimes just living isn't enough," Konoemon said.

She couldn't help smiling slightly. "It's still far better than my old way of thinking, sir."

The headmaster didn't appear entirely satisfied, but he nodded. "Run along, then. I hope Shizuna has answers for your questions."

Setsuna hoped so too. In fact, she dreaded it.

**O**

Konoka clicked her remote to call up the first image. "These are excerpts from the texts my grandfather gave me. As you can see, the uses of the Koyane Wards varies slightly in the different sources, but I've been able to find the commonalities between all the descriptions." She paused to take a sip of water.

Presenting to a room full of important family figures was definitely more intimidating than doing a class project presentation. On one side of the room, the Wallwards were seated in formal western wear, all looking nearly identical in their business suits, while the other half of the room had the Konoe and their friends, wearing their varied formal robes and kimonos.

And it was definitely odd to be lecturing to her former teacher!

"A number of _oni_ were terrorizing Japan in our ancestors' age—" Quickly, Konoka added, "—around the year 989." Thankfully, her slip seemed to be overlooked by the Wallward Dragonlady, as the mood remained one of wary interest and didn't devolve into irritated antagonism. The Wallwards were sensitive about their status as new money and power, especially in the presence of Konoka's old and powerful family.

"Kiyohara Nagiko designed the spell that would be cast from the Fujiwara's most powerful mages, one from each of the five families, to seal the _oni_ away in another dimension so that humans could live safely in a world without the god-demons. Together, they created the circle of wards to imprison the _oni_ and appointed a guardian of the Wards to ensure that the demons remained bound through the ages."

"Until now," someone in the Wallwards said. Konoka hadn't caught who had said it, but she replied lightly,

"The Wards still stand, and the _oni_ remain bound. As the current guardian, I will do my duty to ensure that the wards are repaired."

Kyo stepped in at that moment, taking over the presentation. Konoka sat down next to Asuna, whose eyes were glazed over with boredom. Clicking her pen, Konoka scribbled on the edge of Asuna's notebook.

_Was I that boring? =P_

Asuna startled, giving Konoka a sheepish grin. She wrote underneath, _You were fine, until all the diagrams started coming out…I stopped understanding then, but Negi seemed fascinated. Besides, I knew all that stuff already: Wards = lock bad guys away!_

Konoka stifled a giggle, blushing when Kyo paused for a moment in the middle of his explanations of the physical properties of the wards to give her a confused look. He rallied hastily, "As I was saying…the exterior ring of stones are also tied to the Wards' functioning, although they are mostly used to physically and magically defend the interior stone which is the actual seal over the portal…"

_God, your husband's diagrams are worse than yours._

Tongue in cheek, Konoka wrote, _Asuna, shouldn't you be paying attention? You're helping me with my research, and healing the physical vulnerability in the stones requires knowledge of those magical networks._

_ No way! _Asuna grinned and scribbled, _Besides, if those magical circuits give me trouble, I could just punch them and—_

SHRIIIIIIP!

Everyone turned to stare at Konoka, who had just frantically torn their written conversation into pieces.

"Um, is there something wrong?" Eishun asked his daughter.

She went red. "My apologies. Kyo, please continue." Konoka winced as she got a disapproving glare from Kyo's grandmother before everyone went back to pay attention to the images Kyo was describing.

Asuna was grimacing. _Konoka?_

Her hand shaking slightly, Konoka wrote, _I'm sorry. But…_ She paused, taking a few breaths. _Don't ever write that down, just in case. The fewer people who know about you, and about what you can do, the better… I don't want anyone coming after you again for evil goals, Asuna._

She dropped her pen and stood before Asuna could recover from her surprise to reply. "Thanks Kyo—now, from the research that we've gathered so far, we've been able to identify the most evident failures. One, the physical weakness in the stones. Normal seals magically amplify the strength of the objects they are bound to, so you can't just take a sledgehammer and smash the stone and thus break the seal. However, this crack in one of the ring-stones broke the hub of this magic command, resulting in a physical vulnerability to the Koyane Wards that is our highest priority."

"Do you know what broke the ring-stone?" Negi asked innocently. He pointed at the image of the cracked monolith on the screen and traced the deep gouge with a finger. "Damage like that isn't easy—these Wards have stood for more than a thousand years against demonic and magical attack, so _something _had to have been different in the attack that caused this. Are the broken ring-stone and the Wards' general magical failure from the same event, or different ones?"

"We don't know," Konoka said quickly. "Kyo's research team hasn't been able to find much on the Wards' current magical state—apparently, their state fluctuates so much that it's impossible to observe properly. Most of our data on the current urgent problem is related to the physical damage."

"I heard that yesterday, a group of demons discovered the Koyane Wards' weakness and managed to flee alive?" Alden Wallward said coolly.

"Unfortunately, yes Uncle," Kyo spoke before Konoka could. "We had hoped that keeping our presence light at the Wards would keep demons from realizing that the Wards were jeopardized, but somehow they found out. Our guards were able to slay the majority of them, but one slipped through by accident in the chaos. We currently have set our strongest barriers and a contingent of guards to ensure that the Wards can't be breached."

A loud scoff cut through the room. Evangeline flashed her fangs, her deceptively young face full of malicious amusement. "Please, your strongest barriers stand up worse than soap bubbles. And Sakurazaki can beat all your guards blindfolded and with her hands tied to her ankles. Do you really think that you can last against even the lamest mage keen on breaking in?"

"Ah, which is where I can be of service!" Negi jumped in hastily. He stood and bowed to the Wallward side of the room, as they appeared more offended than the seasoned Konoe. "I've spent the last year studying barrier spells in my home country, and I've brought over some of my new designs that I will be delighted to share with all of you. They should be able to supplement the spells you already have in place."

"Thank you," Kyo said somewhat stiffly, bowing in return. "We appreciate your assistance, Negi Springfield."

"Hmpf," Evangeline snorted, getting up. "Shrimps playing with sharks. If you don't suck up your pride soon, you're all going to get run over by the big boys." She smirked at Konoka. "At least you're getting off your ass this time around, since you're the only mage worth a damn in Kyoto." The vampire strolled out, cackling.

"We're grateful for all the help we've received so far," Konoka tried to save the situation, bowing deeply. "None of this would be possible without your support. Evangeline-san does bring up a valid point—the demons who attacked yesterday were only minor monsters, but even Setsuna and Mana, both great warriors, had difficulty fighting them. Negi-sensei's spells are most welcome."

"I heard," Grandmother Wallward spoke, her voice diamond-hard, "that the Konoe's bodyguard could not enter the ring of Wards, and so failed to stop the demon that escaped?" Damn, Konoka fretted, she must have gotten the exact events from one of the Wallward servants…

"Honoured grandmother, the Wards are powerful, even at failing strength," Konoka said politely.

"Really?" The Wallward Head may be old, but there wasn't a shred of weakness in her intimidating gaze or her dry, cutting voice. "Are you sure it is not a…" she paused delicately. "…personal failing of your bodyguard that barred her entry? Did others not enter the outer ring in the past?"

Kyo spoke quickly before Konoka could open her mouth, her fists shaking at her side. "Not that I personally know of, Grandmother…Um, Konoka, you mentioned an urban legend about the Wards to me once? About how lovers would walk inside to look into the mirror? My researchers didn't want to risk any danger, but there may be a precedent…"

Asuna's eyes went wide, and she stared at Konoka. Konoka prayed that all the attention in the room truly was on her, but she didn't dare give Asuna a look begging her to be discrete.

_Please don't say it, Asuna…_

"Well?" Uncle Alden demanded. "So shouldn't you look up these past couples, and see if it's just Sakurazaki who has the problem?"

"But that's the thing," Konoka said quietly. All the side muttering in the room stilled. "No one has ever done it. So there _is _no precedent. It could be harmless, or it could be taboo. We just…don't know."

Thank god, Asuna had controlled her expression into one of light concern.

But Konoka knew that her friend's mind was turning, and that she was starting to put the pieces together.

To her relief, all Asuna did was give her a brief _We'll talk later _look and kept her mouth shut.

"Right now, I'm developing a spell that can heal the broken stone to repair the physical vulnerability. After that, we can turn our attention to finding the initial spell that created the Koyane Wards, and what is required to make them as strong as they were before." Konoka glanced at the clock on the wall. "Everyone, how about we take a short break? Afterwards, we can discuss the other items on today's meeting agenda."

When everyone rose and started talking loudly, Konoka sighed with relief when she saw Asuna sneak out. She had expected Asuna to flee at the threat of more boring debates after the break, and now she had more time to compose herself before Asuna confronted her lies later on.

"Konoka?" Kyo was at her elbow. He offered her a glass of juice, which she took gratefully.

"Thank you."

He rubbed his head, messing unruly locks already chaotic from his nervous fingers, and Konoka reached up and tried to put his hair in some kind of order. "Thanks…You did really well. You know, presenting."

"So did you." She bit her lip and looked down. Softly, she said, "Thank you for not blaming it on Setsuna earlier. In front of everyone."

"She did her best." Kyo exhaled, rubbing his eyes under his glasses. "No point in tossing blame around at this point."

"It wasn't her fault," Konoka couldn't help saying, even after his comment.

A nasty thought entered her mind. _Being so defensive…Who are you really trying to convince?_

She knew the answer to that.

**O**

"Setsuna-san!" Shizuna waved Setsuna over to sit on one of the beds as she pulled out her file. "How have you been doing?"

"Fine." Setsuna wanted to get over the pleasantries, as she was uncomfortable enough as it is. Bluntly, she dove right into her problem. "I've been healing faster than before."

"Ah." Shizuna adjusted her glasses. "Have you been getting healed by Konoka-san?"

"No, sensei."

"What kind of injuries?"

"Mostly superficial ones, from the errant demon here and there. And training injuries."

The nurse flipped through the papers in her lap. "From the information I've looked up after your call, some demons increase in healing ability the older they age. It could possibly just be an effect of your growing up."

Setsuna pressed her lips together. "But I'm a half…"

"It seems you've thought of the other possibility already," Shizuna sighed. "Yes, it _is _possible that your demon blood is growing in influence on your body, thus accelerating your physical capabilities. _Possible._"

Even if she had thought of it, having someone else say it sent her spirits plummeting. Dully, Setsuna said, "I've been getting faster. Stronger."

"You were just a teenager the last time we measured your reflexes, so don't discount plain aging as a part of the explanation, Setsuna-san." Eyeing her head to toe, Shizuna added unhappily, "And you've lost weight. Have you been eating properly, and getting enough rest?"

"…Probably not enough. But I have been."

Clucking her tongue, Shizuna admonished, "You'll make yourself sick, and then how will you protect Konoka-san?"

"I'll be as fast as I need to be for her."

"I'm sure." The bespectacled woman definitely didn't sound impressed. Shizuna glanced down at Setsuna's folder, then asked carefully, "And how have you been dealing with the defensive mechanisms? You mentioned then that sinking deeper into a demonic mindset had helped you cope."

"I haven't been doing that now," Setsuna said quickly. She was silent. "I wondered if that might be the reason for my strength and healing…I…I don't know. But I haven't needed to do that at all lately."

"I know that last time, you said that it was going well, but after the recent…stress, I wondered if—"

"I'm fine," Setsuna cut in.

Shizuna raised an eyebrow.

Setsuna took a breath, waiting for her nerves to settle. "How…how can I find out which is the case? About the healing and speed and strength." Whether she was growing older and stronger or…darker and less human…

"I can ask—"

"_No. _ Please."

Shizuna blew a puff of air through her bangs. "Pay attention to any physical changes over the next few months. Try to avoid any magics meant only for humans or only for demons, to be on the safe side. I'll look closer into tengu-demon tribes, and see what I can find about their normal young adult physiology."

She knew how much trouble she was heaping on the nurse. Neither Konoka, Eishun nor Konoemon would be happy that something like this was being kept from them, but Setsuna didn't want them to know. "Thank you. It's really…" Setsuna swallowed. "Thank you."

"Keep yourself healthy, and it will be no trouble," Shizuna said with a pointed look.

Abruptly, Setsuna said, "Shizuna-sensei."

"Yes?"

"I need your help with something."

"Help? What kind of help?"

"…How to fall out of love."


	5. Chapter IV

Chapter 4

_May 4, 2010, Same Day_

_Mahora_

Setsuna felt stupid.

As usual, it was mostly her fault that she felt that way. But she felt utterly stupid making a kite out of a plastic bag and a pair of chopsticks while sitting on the World Tree hill.

The Scotch tape kept folding on itself in the wind.

…It had been Shizuna's idea.

Actually, after her initial protests and inquiries as to _why_—to which Setsuna didn't bother answering—the nurse's first suggestion had been to write Konoka's name on a rock and symbolically throw it into the ocean. It was a classic method to cast her feelings away and let the water wash her free, something like that. But Setsuna couldn't quite bear the idea of chucking anything that had Konoka's name on it like a piece of garbage into the sea, and so Shizuna had suggested writing Konoka's name on a kite and letting it fly free.

Letting a kite go seemed a tad less crude than chucking a rock into the water, so Setsuna decided that she might as well give it a shot.

Setsuna couldn't help but wonder if Shizuna had already thought of that alternative for herself before, as the older woman oddly had all the materials needed to make a kite in her desk drawer.

But those wild-mass guessing predictions were Konoka and Asuna's territory, not hers.

Making a kite wasn't that hard.

Cut the plastic.

Tape the chopsticks as frames to the plastic.

Tie and tape down the thin twine of kite-string—the oddest item by far that Shizuna-sensei _happened _to have on hand.

Carefully, holding the plastic stretched out between her knees, Setsuna wrote "Konoka" on the sheet. Was that good enough? Adding "Konoe" would be more specific, but it felt too formal. But if she wanted formal, maybe she should have written "Ojou-sama"…but Setsuna wasn't in love with Ojou-sama, but with Konoka…

Maybe she should have written "Kono-chan" instead…

Setsuna made to cross out "Konoka" but hesitated. Finally, she printed "Kono-chan" in brackets lower down and capped her Sharpie.

"Let her go, huh?" Setsuna muttered, picking up the roll of kite-string in her free hand. Honestly, she doubted that a psychological trick would get rid of her problem, but at this point Setsuna was willing to give try anything to help relieve some of the tension.

Slowly, she played the crude kite up into the air, tugging it back and forth in the wind until it whipped high above her head under the World Tree's canopy.

_Let it go._

Setsuna bit her lip, watching the kite flutter above. Maybe she should play out more line, she still had some of the string rolled up in her fist. She promptly did so.

_Now. Let it go._

The wind changed, and Setsuna yanked on the string to tack the kite steadily through the sudden gust, playing out the rest of the line in a jerk.

_Okay, now._

The string was biting into her palm.

Her feelings for Konoka—she just had to let go. Supposedly, she'd feel better afterwards. Like more of a resolution had been reached.

_Let it go. Open your hand._

She sweated.

_LET. GO._

High above, the kite suddenly dipped and blew sideways in a torrential updraft. A sharp slicing pain made her jump. "Fuck!" Setsuna swore as she felt the kite string slip through her bleeding palm and snap like a loosed elastic into the sky.

She stuck her hand in her mouth, tasting blood and the sting of torn skin.

"Why don't I lick that for you?" a familiar leer came from above her.

Setsuna looked up, dropping her hand from her mouth. "Evangeline-san." Ah, shit—the daywalker was holding onto her kite, a smirk on her young face. Setsuna winced.

"Oh, what's this?"

"It's just…don't…" Setsuna hung her head.

Evangeline held out the plastic kite and smirked at the name written on it. "Letting go of your precious Ojou-sama, huh? Did it work?"

Setsuna stared, then looked down at her palm, still oozing a line of blood down her wrist. Suddenly she started laughing, red spittle dropping from her lips. What a joke! Laughter continued to shake Setsuna's slim form as she collapsed onto the grass, still giggling.

"Hmpf," Evangeline grunted, disturbed, and raised an eyebrow. She released her grip on the plastic bag kite. The crumpled kite fell a few feet before wafting open and catching a breeze that sent it tumbling away and into the sky. Evangeline dropped off a branch and landed gracefully on the ground. "If you're done, I'm bored. Let's have a match."

Feeling her last few chuckles trickle away, Setsuna wiped her hand on the grass and picked up Yuunagi's case. "Sure," she agreed.

They walked towards Evangeline's cabin, using the sly paths instead of the main ways. Setsuna knew all the side streets well from her middle-school patrol routes, and with newly-practiced ease she memorized the minute changes in architecture and landmarks as they walked.

"I see you've given up on your silly disguise," Evangeline commented languidly. "Why?"

"The eyes keep people from looking at me too long. It's how I like it."

"Interesting," Evangeline smirked, and Setsuna checked herself, wondering how much she should reveal to the vampire. If the worst Evangeline would do was mock her, that wasn't too bad—but giving Evangeline too much information could possibly backfire on her in unexpected ways. Idly, Evangeline drawled, "But you kept dying your hair."

"Easier to disguise myself. And it's more intimidating."

"More like more emo," Evangeline taunted.

Thankfully they had arrived at Evangeline's private cabin. Both of them headed towards the training area in the woods. Setsuna undid the ties of her sword case and drew out Yuunagi. "Rules?"

"What rules?" Evangeline grinned before she launched a sudden attack.

Setsuna caught the first punch on Yuunagi's sheath, and despite her digging her heels in the blow knocked her back. Block then strike then block again, the two of them trying to draw the other out while gauging their skill level.

_I can keep up with her,_ Setsuna marvelled, ducking a backhand from Evangeline and spinning into a roundhouse kick that missed as the vampire rolled away. _Unlike last time, I'm matching her blow for blow._

"OOF!" A blow to the stomach knocked the air out of Setsuna's lungs for a split moment before she reacted and nailed the charging Evangeline with an elbow strike to the chin, gaining enough time to catch her breath again.

"Don't get cocky now," Evangeline warned, circling her.

"_I_ won last time," Setsuna pointed out. "With you at full power too."

"Shut it," Evangeline growled, although she seemed more disgruntled than truly angry. Then her smirk returned. "Although this time, it seems you're choosing the sword instead?"

Her eyes narrowed, and Setsuna lunged forward, drawing her blade in a flash of silver.

**O**

"Got you!" Asuna said satisfactorily as she latched onto Konoka's wrist. Konoka grimaced—she knew that she risked being ambushed by Asuna if she stepped outside the conference room, but Konoka really couldn't handle staying in that room any longer. The moment the break was called she had slipped out the door and was immediately caught.

"Alright, let's go for a walk?" No one could be around when Asuna forces an explanation out of her.

They drifted to the gardens behind the high school. At this hour, school was over and so only a few students were left on campus as they participated in their various clubs around the grounds. There was no one in the garden though, giving them the privacy they needed.

Asuna didn't waste any time. "Why did you lie back then?" She demanded. "You told me that you and Setsuna entered the outer ring of wards last Halloween."

Konoka sighed, running one hand through her long hair. "It's…complicated."

While Asuna may have been the leader of the Baka-rangers, she wasn't stupid when it came to logical deducing. They had all grown skilled in the Magical World, in the years following it. "You said that after you walked through the Wards and when Setsuna joined you, the Wards started going nuts. Setsuna called out her wings, didn't she?"

Defeated, Konoka nodded.

"But demons have hit the Koyane Wards before without breaking them. So Setsuna grabbed you, and she must have been flying…then she hit the stone." Asuna paused, her blue and green eyes narrowed. "And she broke it…because she's a half-demon. That has to be it, if nothing has ever broken the Ward stones before. I'm right, aren't I?"

"Please," Konoka said.

"That's also why she couldn't enter the Ward's outer ring later on, since she must have been channelling Demon at that time, and that…anti-demon barrier kicked her out, right?"

"We had suspected already that there's probably some kind of anti-demon barrier there, and Set-chan just proved it for us. It seems like we can generalize half-demons with full demons in that case—"

"Why did you lie, then?" Asuna asked again, persistent. "Setsuna broke the stone uniquely because she's a half-demon, but why could she enter the first time—"

Konoka fell to her knees in front of Asuna and bowed her head.

"What? Konoka!" yelped Asuna in shock.

"Please," she whispered tearfully, clutching at Asuna's sleeves as the red-head tried to get her to rise. "Forget all that. Just…don't mention it again, and especially don't let Set-chan hear."

"Okay, okay, please get up!"

Konoka refused to budge, tightening her grip as she babbled on. "Asuna—you know how Set-chan is. Knowing that would break her into a hundred pieces. Please, she can't ever find out."

"But it's not her _fault,_ if you explain it right—"

"Please!" Konoka begged. "I don't care what my family speculates, but Set-chan _can't know._ You know her, Asuna, you know how she feels about herself! It would break her…please…"

Asuna crouched down, putting a hand on Konoka's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I promise, okay? I won't breathe a word of it again—except maybe to Negi, I think he could help, I really do. And you know he won't tell anybody. Okay?"

Swallowing, the brunette nodded. "Okay, Negi-kun. But not another soul. Just Negi-kun."

"Okay," Asuna agreed, and Konoka recognized her tone as being deliberately low and calming, as if she wanted to keep Konoka from bolting like a frightened animal. "But Konoka…" the redhead hesitated. "Don't you think that Setsuna would, um…that she might have guessed herself?"

"If she did, I'm not going to confirm it for her." _Or confirm it for anyone else who might suspect. _Konoka clenched her teeth, finally letting Asuna pull her up. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I won't let her guilt herself to death with that knowledge. _I won't._"

She knew that Asuna didn't approve of her secrecy.

But Asuna didn't understand—Konoka had so little of Setsuna already. Even if it tore her apart she would keep her corrosive secrets. Nothing could entice Konoka to risk losing any more of her dearest person in the world.

**O**

*_"Oh dear, I think I made her lose a lot. Not much left there that she'll be proud of…Do you really believe you can give her enough to fill the gaps? _

_ You'll see._

_ She's already mine."*_

**O**

*_"I don't want us to be just friends anymore…ne, Set-chan?"*_

The blow to her face made Setsuna's head snap back, and she followed through with the punch to protect her neck, falling onto her back. She shook her head to clear the white stars from her vision, panting and sliding Yuunagi into its sheath in a wordless forfeit. A trickle of sweat dripped down her cheek and Setsuna wiped it with the tip of her white shirt sleeve.

Evangeline stood in front of her, her hands on her hips and scowling. Bluntly, she said, "You let that one hit you. God, you _are _a masochist, aren't you?"

Setsuna's eye twitched.

*_"So pick—where should I stab one of these, or shall we go back to Fate's_ Psychi Kinigi?_"*_

"Oh, _that_ got a reaction out of you…" Evangeline leered, eyeing her intently.

"Nothing Evangeline-san should be worried about," Setsuna answered easily. "And speaking of things you don't need to worry about, I'll tell Asuna that you haven't lost your edge a whit." She rubbed her cheek. It was probably bruising, but it would be gone in a few hours.

Puffing out her chest, Evangeline said haughtily, "Of course not—did that stupid monkey hint at it?"

"May I use your shower?"

"What?"

Setsuna tugged at her shirt collar, loosening her tie. "It was a pretty intense fight."

"Fine," Evangeline groused. The vampire stalked up her front steps. "You know where it is." She flounced up the stairs, shouting for Chachamaru to hurry up with the tea.

Setsuna smiled, nodding a greeting to the unfazed Chachamaru as she entered. She walked into the bathroom and locked the door. As she had hoped, there were dark blinds on the window, which Setsuna promptly pulled down. Evangeline was a high daywalker—her blinds weren't completely opaque, and although the sun was setting light still filtered into the bathroom.

Still, it was dark enough for that to be easily remedied—Setsuna carefully laid Yuunagi within arm's length of the shower stall and closed her eyes. Everything went dark.

She undressed briskly, folding her clothes and laying them out in a neat row on the counter. It was too bad that she didn't bring a spare change of clothes, but she hadn't expected to get into a fight with Evangeline. At least she hadn't ripped anything, sewing was always a pain.

Setsuna didn't need to feel for the shower door, one glance around the bathroom when she had first entered fixed the location of everything in her mind. Perfect body coordination meant that she could move as if complete blackness was a brightly lit room. Definitely one of the handier skills she had picked up. Useful too in improving her fighting skills—Setsuna loved killing two birds with one stone, and she chuckled to herself at the ironic idiom.

She showered quickly, not lingering over her bare skin and towelled herself as long as she could bear before rapidly putting her clothes on again. Slightly damp skin under clothes didn't even bother her anymore, and she opened her eyes to comb her wet hair before opening the bathroom door.

"That was fast," Evangeline commented, now lounging on her couch while Chachamaru served her tea.

"Efficient."

"Yeah right. You don't like showers, do you?"

Setsuna felt herself twitch slightly. "I watched the movie _Psycho_, and that movie would turn anybody off showering. You're vulnerable." Learning how to misdirect was difficult, and the hardest part for Setsuna was keeping her responses as close as possible to her normal style of speaking. Otherwise, it would be too obvious.

Evangeline just looked at her with her amusedly cruel smile. But below the surface, she was clearly adding up all her little observations about Setsuna's behaviour and probably reaching conclusions that Setsuna didn't want her to reach. The vampire waved a hand. "Sit down, and have some tea. You're not due back until late."

Gingerly, Setsuna sat down across from her and nodded her thanks as Chachamaru poured her a cup.

"Speaking of psychos," Evangeline drawled, "I heard that a psycho bitch owned you a while back."

The word choice brought a black wave in Setsuna's head, but a few deep breaths calmed her turmoil once again. She lifted her cup and drank. "I mean to make her pay for that."

"Hm. Could you even, when the time comes?" Eva asked slyly.

"I'm better than I was. And I'll get better still."

"Ah, yes, I did notice that." Evangeline sipped at her tea. "In just physical fighting, mind, you should come back at full moon sometime…" She paused and tilted her head, running her tongue over her fangs. "You do have a different whiff around you."

"…A smell?" Setsuna asked confusedly.

"Your aura. I'm getting all kinds of things from you."

Setsuna shifted under the girl's gaze. "…Evangeline, do you know any tengu?"

"Nope." Evangeline refuted cheerfully. "And even if I did, kid, that ain't what you're giving off."

"_What_?" breathed Setsuna.

Snorting, Evangeline replied in disdain, "Please. Tengu aren't stupid beasts. The demonic air I'm getting from you? That's the stuff of dumb, raging demons full of nothing but all the fun nasty things of violence, hatred and a delicious tang of malice. You know—the kind you used to kill here." Chuckling darkly, Evangeline winked. "How ironic, hm?"

Chilled, Setsuna dropped a hand to Yuunagi's hilt. "I won't," she whispered.

"So you say. If you get your head out of your ass for just a minute, you'll realize that you've got friends who give a damn about what you might become." Tossing her hair back, Evangeline scowled, giving Setsuna her long-suffering _I'm surrounded by idiots _glare. She crossed her arms. "Especially your precious "ojou-sama", even though she's got her own pile of crap to deal with. So as entertaining as all this angst is, why don't you two grow a pair already and address it?"

That was oddly kind and logical from Evangeline, but Setsuna shook her head. "It's not that simple. I wish it was."

Apparently, that was Evangeline's goodness quota of the day. "Meh, whatever," she said lazily, kicking her bare feet onto a cushion. "I must say, it's like seeing the old you again, but improved. Like the keen edge of a re-sharpened sword. A fight is much more fun that way," she grinned.

"I'm glad to have been entertaining," Setsuna said dryly as she finished off her tea.

Calculatingly, Evangeline said, "So you've chosen, then. The sword?"

Setsuna dropped the tea cup. It spiralled down towards the floor, the thin handle spinning, until she quickly caught it an inch from the hardwood floor. Setsuna firmly set the cup on the table, feeling the china creak under the force. "Respectfully, Evangeline—mind your own business."

The front door opening distracted both of them, and Asuna bounded in. "Hey Fang-girl, let's—oh, Setsuna? What are you doing here?"

"I was just leaving." Setsuna picked up Yuunagi, her knuckles white, and stalked for the door. "We're all departing soon Asuna, don't be late back at the cars."

Asuna watched the door slam shut behind the swordswoman. "Hm." She turned and raised an eyebrow at Evangeline. "So, you guys were talking about her idiot dance with Konoka?"

"I'm about to give up on all you dumb losers," Evangeline rolled her eyes, flouncing back on her cushions. "All self-sacrificing and frigging martyr complexes. No wonder you guys keep screwing things up."

Asuna sighed. It was nice to have someone who agreed with her. "They're both such idiots. Sometimes, I wonder who's trying to protect whom."

"_—from whom_," Evangeline finished, rolling her eyes. "Idiots."

* * *

_**Author's Note: First off, congrats to Tiff, who guessed early on that Setsuna got zapped by a demon barrier! =D I can finally say it aloud after it was openly revealed in this chapter. And at Shichu: Kyo **_**does **_**have glasses… ^_-**_

_**I wish I had space to write more of Negi and Evangeline (both of whom actually got more screentime than I had intended!), but sadly they're not involved in the meat of the plot. I've been asked whether most of the Ala Alba would show up to help Konoka, but the answer is mostly **_**no:**_** many of them will make cameos, and even be involved in plot-revelations, but I'm keeping a small cast in this story.**_

_**Next chapter is back at the Konoe-Wallward house, and in accordance to my comment above, one of the Ala Alba makes a cameo appearance ^_^.**_


	6. Chapter V

Chapter 5

_May 7, 2010_

_Konoe-Wallward House_

"Konoka, I think you need to put the books away now."

Without looking up, Konoka chuckled. "Aw, Asuna, is it becoming a bit much for you, sitting in this library?" She scribbled down a set of runes and double-checked them against her old notes. If she had any luck, this would be it, the theoretical spell that could heal the broken Ward stone and fix the physical flaw in the Koyane Wards…

"No!" protested Asuna, although she had given up on actually trying to read a hour ago and was practicing katas in the open space between the bookshelves. "But you've been in here all day, I think you need a break."

"Sorry Asuna, I can't…I have to do more reading tonight."

"Konoka, you need downtime too, you know?"

She let out a breath, finally looking up to argue her point. "I have to start taking my research seriously. The Koyane Wards aren't secure anymore, and everyone else is working so hard while I'm just taking my time…"

"You need to rest between testing your spells, not to mention all the energy you spend testing out the component parts of them! Look, Konoka, you paced yourself before for a reason. You know how much you can work and how much rest you need…" Asuna sighed, frustratedly angry. "Don't start being stupid about your health now, please?"

"I'm not!" Konoka pouted, crossing her arms. "You're not the only one getting stronger, you know."

"Hey, Negi's barriers are working fine so far, aren't they?" Asuna pressed. "Not much can blast past Negi's stuff, so you really have some time." She came over and perched on the edge of Konoka's desk, putting a hand over her book. "You probably have this stuff memorized by now."

"Do not!"

"Oh yeah? What's the sequence of strength runes on that broken stone?"

"One, four, four, six, two, seven…" Konoka trailed off, blushing at the redhead's smirk.

"You need a break. You've been so…mopey lately."

That was the wrong thing for Asuna to say, because Konoka clenched her teeth and pulled another heavy text towards herself. "I just feel like working hard, is that such a crime?"

Instead of backing down, Asuna retorted with, "Aren't you too old for tantrums? Did you want to out-stubborn the bird-brain?" It seemed like Asuna had recharged her aggressive rudeness after talking with Evangeline when they had gone to Mahora.

"I'm _not _throwing a tantrum." Konoka began sketching a possible spell, jabbing her pen into her pad of paper and digging grooves in the surface from the force. "If Setsuna can do her job so perfectly, then I should follow her good example and do mine."

"I know she's been out of sight for a bit—"

"_Three days._ She's not even being professional anymore, since before she'd at least trade off with Mana-san for close guard sometimes."

Asuna growled, snatching the book out of Konoka's hands. "If it's bothering you so much, why don't you actually go and _talk _to her? You know, _speak _like normal people, instead of expecting her to read your mind?"

"If she wants to avoid me, that's her right." Konoka made a grab for her book but Asuna pulled away. "If she can do her job just fine without seeing me, then I've no right to ask her to act differently."

"No _right?_" Asuna steamed. "Since when do friends need _rights? _What the hell! What's wrong with you, Konoka?"

"Nothing!"

"Yeah, that's why you've been sulking since Mahora. Just corner Setsuna and get her to—"

"I can't."

Asuna slammed the book down on the table in frustration, the bang it made loud enough to get two maids to look in the library door. Konoka winced and waved them off. Oh, she was going to hear from Ethan again about how disruptive Asuna was, and she'd have to spend a while listening to him rant to no end.

"Why _can't _you?" Asuna asked dangerously, her mismatched eyes softening in genuine concern. "To her, of course you've got the right to ask."

"I don't." Konoka slipped her wedding ring off her finger, spinning it between her thumb and forefinger. "Asuna, I don't have any right on Setsuna anymore. Don't you see?" She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. She wasn't the victim here. "I gave up the right to ask anything of Set-chan when I married Kyo." Konoka laid the ring on the table, then picked it up again and put it on once more. She sat back in her chair wearily. "I loved her, and I knew that she loved me too, but I still married him. It wasn't Set-chan's place to stop us, it was _mine._ And I still didn't."

"Even so—"

"I made a mockery of her feelings and of mine." Over the past month, Konoka's had a lot of anguished nights to think about it all. "I let her go, dumped her like something I didn't need anymore." _Even though I still do, so, so much. _ "So you see—I have no right to ask anything of Set-chan anymore." She closed her eyes. Quietly, Konoka said, "You know that if I even mention it to her, she would, whether she wanted to or not. And that would be wrong of me."

Asuna _did _understand to some extent, Konoka could see it in her silent contemplation. "Konoka, are you still friends with her? Because all the stuff you're saying, that's only if you're less than friends."

_Or _more _than friends,_ Konoka mentally finished for her. "I…I just don't know." Feeling too emotional, Konoka pulled her book back over and opened the cover. "She's not…_my _Set-chan anymore." She would need Kyo's help finding in his electronic archive someone's reference to multi-unit looping spells, so that Konoka could get a good idea if her invented spell could hold itself together. "I'll just be up for a couple more hours, you can go to bed if you want. I'm going to wait up for Kyo."

"The only person in this house who stays up later than you do," Asuna said dryly. "And no, I'm not forgetting Setsuna—that girl doesn't _sleep._"

**O**

_"Hey Set-chan?" _

_ Setsuna's stomach lurched—she was lying on her side in bed, staring at the most beautiful sight in the world. Konoka shifted so that she was closer, trailing light fingers over her arm._

_ "It's kind of scary, graduating from high school."_

_ "Scary?" Setsuna asked, shivering under Konoka's touch. She lay an arm across Konoka's waist, sending waves of comfortable warmth and quivering desire through her body. _

_ "Yeah…I mean, there's university, and leaving most of our friends. Everything won't be the same anymore." The mage sniffed and with Setsuna's coaxing, lay her head down on Setsuna's shoulder and snuggled in. "Everyone's going to go away and do their own things…Nodoka-chan and Yue-chan are leaving for the Magical World, Negi-kun's going back to Wales…" She smiled weakly and tried for a joke. "At least Evangeline-san's going to stay the same."_

_ "I won't go away." _

_ "Set-chan—"_

_ "No, it's not because I think I _have_ to stay. I _want _to stay with you, Kono-chan." Setsuna blushed. "We're…friends. So don't worry, I'll always be at your side, in good times and in bad."_

_ "Set-chan," Konoka teased, "that sounded a lot like a marriage vow…"_

_ Setsuna choked, sputtering as Konoka giggled, and as she jerked _something brushed and coiled around her wrists—

She exploded upwards, yanking her wrists up to break free—and forced her breathing to calm when she realized that it was only her twisted blanket. Setsuna took a few more breaths, shaking off the fuzzy tatters of sleep and memory. One hand dropped to Yuunagi's hilt, the touch comforting her further.

"Dream," she said aloud. "I'm in my room. I'm twenty-one. I'm strong enough to help myself." And the hardest part. "I'm safe here."

But she never actually felt that safe. She only ever did when she was with Konoka, and even then her mind played tricks with her, and Setsuna would sometimes wake up in worse despair before assuring herself that it really was Konoka.

The practised chant worked though, and Setsuna could feel her heart rate slowing and the rest of her muscles begin to relax.

At least Mana wasn't here this time. Not that the mercenary ever said anything in response of Setsuna's quiet litany, but it was still embarrassing. Setsuna rubbed her wrist with a thumb. It would be easier, in a way, if she had scars. But after that incident she healed far too fast and far too well to scar anywhere.

The door opened, sending in a rectangle of light. "Setsuna?" Mana held up a letter. "You should see this."

"Where's Ojou-sama?" Setsuna asked immediately.

"With Asuna-san in the library. They should be going to bed soon."

Mollified, Setsuna pushed her blanket aside and took the envelope from Mana. The flap had already been slit open, but she took a look at the crest. "Bounty Hunter's guild?"

"I still have a mailbox with them," Mana said, the corner of her lip twitching upwards.

A look at the sender made her mood lighten. "Nodoka!" She pulled out the letter.

A hologram sprang into view, and Nodoka appeared in the middle of the page, her hair still in its distinctive style but pulled back more until her bangs didn't cover her face anymore. It was good to see her so different from the shy Honya-chan she used to be. _"Setsuna-san, Mana-san, I hope everything's been alright with you two. Please give Konoka-san and Asuna-san my regards."_

Nodoka had always been extremely proper and polite, but the brisk way she went right into business wasn't a very good sign.

_"I wanted to warn you guys about something that has come to my attention in the last few days. There have been multiple postings for bounty hunters to break into the Koyane Wards, or to capture Konoka-san."_ The little hologram Nodoka quickly added, _"Don't worry, there aren't that many contracts taken to go after Konoka-san—the gossip in the guild is that no one really wants to tangle with either of you! But I know that the Koyane Wards are under Konoka-san's protection, so I thought that you should know. Most of the bounty hunters are amateurs, but there are a few decent groups who have accepted contracts. I've written down the names of all the groups I could identify at the bottom of this letter. _

_ "Craig-san and the others have called in as many favours as they could to try and find the ones behind the bounties, but we haven't had any luck so far. We'll keep trying."_ Nodoka nodded determinedly, then waved. _"Be careful, and good luck!"_ The magic dissipated, sinking back into the letters on the sheet.

"So…Wards, or Konoka-san?" Mana asked, her voice in that light tone that could mean teasing humour or wry seriousness.

"Is there even a question?" Setsuna replied, mimicking Mana's tone. She scanned the list of bounty hunter names, committing them to memory, then handed the letter back to Mana.

"There might be," Mana said as she unclipped her gun belt and stretched out on her bed. Before Setsuna could react, Mana continued. "Hazan Wallward is looking for you,"

Grunting in reply, Setsuna did up her top button and pulled her tie tight, grabbing her jacket and her sword. "Night."

She really should go straight to Konoka—but it wasn't even eleven yet, Konoka might still be awake. There was no way Setsuna could be close and yet remain unseen, so she sighed and headed towards the bodyguard common room. The Wallward guards could usually be found there when they were off duty, instead of resting or honing their skills. A waste of talent, but it was neither Setsuna's business nor inclination to intervene.

Knocking briskly, Setsuna waited for someone to open the door. When it opened, she didn't bother say anything, just stared at the man in front of her until he fidgeted and yelled for Hazan, backing off.

"Setsuna!" Hazan folded her cards in the poker game at the main table, coming over right away. Setsuna felt faint surprise to see that the solidarity between the Wallward guards included absolute trust, as Hazan didn't even bother cleaning up her winnings before coming out into the hall and shutting the door behind her.

"You asked to see me."

"Ah, yes—" Hazan glanced at the door and moved a little further down the hallway, Setsuna walking beside her calmly. "Sorry, people are pretty nosy in this house."

Indeed, Setsuna could hear three people eavesdropping behind the common room door before they had moved out of earshot. "What did you need from me?"

"Right to the point, huh?" Hazan grinned, her grey eyes twinkling.

"I have elsewhere to be," Setsuna answered, sighing at how she seemed to entertain Hazan all the time without trying. She seemed to do that a lot to her friends.

"Okay, I won't keep you." Now looking distinctly nervous, Hazan swallowed. "Can you teach us how to fight against magic and demons? We weren't too useful in the last fight, and if things are going to be picking up both Kyo and Konoka-sama are going to be in danger in this house, and also whenever they go to the Wards. Will you?"

Setsuna had a simple answer to that. "No."

Hazan didn't seem too surprised, but she still protested vehemently. "Come on, Setsuna, if you help us improve we could make your job just a little easier, right? The more sharp eyes and skilled fighters the better, all around? We'll work really hard, I swear."

"No," Setsuna repeated, but she conceded to a short explanation. "All of me is devoted to my service to Ojou-sama—I can't be distracted by anything. All of you will be a distraction, and that I won't allow."

She watched Hazan process that, a variety of emotions mixing on her face.

"Ask Asuna," Setsuna said abruptly, causing Hazan's eyebrows to shoot up in surprise. "She learned how to fight demons later in life, unlike me. She'd enjoy teaching you, and she's just as good a fighter as me."

"Asuna?" Hazan blinked. "Isn't she Konoka-sama's secretary?"

The Wallwards had great connections in the magical community on Earth, but it seemed like they weren't very current with news from the Magical World. A good thing, sometimes. "Ask her, and she'll prove her skills to you." Setsuna settled Yuunagi's sheath over her shoulder. "Excuse me, I need to go on patrol."

She walked outside onto the boardwalk, jumping up to grab one of the overhanging roof tiles and swung herself up onto the roof. The perimeter of the Konoe-Wallward house were patrolled by a thin rotation of guards, and security was so bad that it took no effort for Mana or Setsuna to slip past them any time they pleased. And none of them watched the skies for attack, but she couldn't blame them—for a crew used to human infiltration, flying demons attacking from above wasn't in the norm.

But Setsuna _was _one of those flying demons, so she kept her eyes open.

An added benefit to roof-top patrolling was that she didn't have to worry about encountering anyone else up here.

Silently, she ran up the shingles to perch on the roof ridge, one hand relaxed on her bent knee and the other light on the tile to keep her balance. In the Magical World, she and Kaede had the greatest time skulking around on rooftops, and the ninja had even taught Setsuna a few new tricks in sneaking and prowling. But she didn't have a particular enemy this night, so Setsuna found a comfortable spot near the apex of three roofs and settled down for her shift.

Movement below caught Setsuna's attention, and she shifted Yuunagi so that she could draw it quickly. A messy head walked by from the house and onto one of the stone paths, and Kyo sighed, rubbing his eyes as his glasses dangled from one hand.

He was tall, but shrimpy. Bare-handed, magic or no, Setsuna could wipe the floor with him on her worst days. Inside her, part of her stirred, purring at the thought. Prove her worth to Konoka by her strength, through blood and the sizzle of—

Setsuna sprang from her perch, running down the roof tiles and whipping Yuunagi from its sheath with a hiss of metal. She leapt off the roof, red eyes narrowed deeply in concentration.

"Ahh!" Kyo yelled in shock and pain as Setsuna barrelled into him, flinging him off the path as she stabbed down.

Coils lashed around her, bruising Setsuna's arms and legs as the skewered snake-demon shrieked, baring its teeth in rage at being robbed of its prey. The demon swelled around Setsuna's blade, growing in size as it hissed and struck.

Setsuna sprang out of the way, yanking Yuunagi out of the serpent's belly while she moved, causing the demon to shriek again. She side-stepped, and promptly crashed into Kyo, who had jumped forward to try and help.

"Get out of here!" Setsuna shouted, splitting her attention for an instant.

The serpent was faster—its tail snapped into Setsuna, knocking her head over heels but Setsuna rolled into a fighting pose, Yuunagi brandished in front of her. But she hadn't been its target.

Kyo gasped, trapped within the snake demon's coils as the serpent hid its head behind his body, hissing a satisfied taunt.

Obviously, it didn't expect Setsuna to take the risk and attack.

**O**

_"What're you going on about, Setsuna? I'm sure you could do it too if you tried." The boisterous Rakan said over his shoulder. "If it's the status of the technique that's got you all worried, I'll give it a brand new name just for you!"_

_ Setsuna gaped at him. "Wha—you can't just…"_

_ "I call this technique the "In Celebration Of My First Kiss With Ojou-sama Strike"! How about it?"_

_ "WHAT?" Setsuna spazzed, red-faced. "You were watching!"_

_ But even as she panicked, she was aware of Konoka behind her, looking embarrassed as well, but at the same time still blushingly gleeful and amused._

_ "Alright, here I go!"_

**O**

"**Zanmaken Ni-no-Tachi!**"

Kyo screamed as Setsuna slashed downward, her attack cutting through him harmlessly to split the serpent into pieces. It didn't have time to scream before it's coils loosened as it fell, dead. There was silence, then Kyo gingerly stepped free, shuddering as he wiped demon blood off his glasses and jumped over to Setsuna's side, his hands shaking.

"Th…Thank you, Setsuna-san."

_*"Zanmaken Ni-no-Tachi…IN CELEBRATION OF MY FIRST KISS WITH OJOU-SAMA…SPECIAL!"*_

Setsuna's stomach clenched and she waited for the memory to fade away, along with the gush of suppressed emotions that came with it. In her head, that was how she always finished the attack ever since Rakan had taught her how to have the confidence to teach herself. Because of it, Setsuna avoided using the attack whenever she could. She flicked her blade and walked to find her sheath, Kyo following behind her like a scared puppy. "My pleasure, sir."

"Master!" A pair of guards came running up, panting. "Is everything alright?" They stared at the dead, disintegrating snake demon, then at Setsuna, then at Kyo.

"I'm fine, Setsuna-san saved me," Kyo said unashamedly, nodding at her gratefully. "You can return to your posts."

"You should find where it got in," Setsuna spoke up. She pointed at the walls. "Those walls are spelled against minor demons, so there must be a hole somewhere." To her shame, she hadn't noticed how the demon had gotten in, she had been too preoccupied with her inappropriate thoughts…

"Setsuna-san?"

She blinked, and noticed that the guards had left. Kyo stared at her, then stuffed his hands into his pockets, the loose ends of his shirt flapping uncharacteristically slovenly in the breeze.

"Um…that was a Shinmeiryuu technique, wasn't it?"

"You know of Shinmeiryuu?" Setsuna asked in surprise.

"Um, after we were betrothed, I did more research on the Kansai Magic Association," Kyo said, looking at some of the plants to avoid meeting her eye, as if unsure of how she'd react. "And I read about it a little. I wanted to know why Konoemon-sama trusted you so implicitly with Konoka."

Setsuna shifted uncomfortably, then sighed and put her sword on her shoulder. "Sir, for your safety while your guards search for the hole in the property's spells, I would ask you to remain inside the house."

He seemed to pick up that the conversation was over, and he looked a bit relieved as well. "I will. Thank you again…I know that you're only here to protect Konoka."

"I am." Setsuna met his eyes with hers, watching him grow uneasy under the weight of her gaze. "That's why I saved you."

Once upon a time, she would have saved anyone on instinct. But that wasn't the case now.

Now, it took every ounce of her strength to convince herself that her job involved saving lives, not just taking them all the time.

_But I should have expected that…it's in the blood._

**O**

Kyo opened the door to his study, and stopped in the doorway. Sprawled on his couch was a drunk Ethan, who was playing backgammon with Hazan who was entertaining herself between moves by spinning on Kyo's leather chair.

"Is it really _that _entertaining?" He asked her dryly as he shut the door and loosened his tie, shrugging off his soiled shirt.

"Spoiled rich boy," Hazan retorted haughtily, giving herself another spin. "You don't appreciate what you've got."

"He sure doesn't," Ethan agreed, drinking more from his wine bottle—one purloined from Kyo's untouched wine cabinet. "Yo, what happened to your clothes?"

"Demon guts." Only with his two oldest friends did Kyo dare to quickly strip off his shirt to throw another one on, doing up the buttons with his back turned. "Setsuna-san saved me from one in the garden."

"What?" Ethan shot upright.

"Calm down, he's obviously fine."

"Obviously?"

"I really _am_ fine," Kyo interjected.

"Well, it's Setsuna," Hazan shrugged, as if that just explained it.

"And that's supposed to make me feel better…how?" Ethan said sarcastically. He rolled his turn so hard the dice bounced out and clattered on the floor.

Kyo sat down in one of his wheel-less, fold-up chairs and pulled his laptop towards himself. "She's a good fighter. The house is pretty safe with her and Mana-san around."

"It'd be safer if the guards could do their job right," Ethan snarked, and his tone was half-teasing, half-insult.

"Hey!" Hazan chucked a book at his head before reaching down to scoop up the dice. "I'm working on that—if only Kyo would let us hire some more people…"

"Watch the books!" Kyo exclaimed, glaring at her. He signed into his account and groaned when messages popped up before his browser finished loading. "And you know I can't. We've got a budget to keep."

"We don't have nearly enough people to reasonably guard this whole place, and from _demons?_" Hazan tossed the dice onto the board. "Maybe you could get Konoka-sama to ask her friends…"

"We can't afford to pay them, and I don't need hand-outs from everybody," Kyo said shortly.

"Dude, why the hell isn't the Konoe pitching in for your budget?" Ethan demanded, sitting up properly. "All the money's coming from _your _side of the family."

Kyo winced as he went through his company email, sending confirmations and quick replies to all the memos in his inbox. It was easy work, since he had lucked out with a good assistant who took care of all the details for him, so all he had to do was read over the proposals and give his okay. "Because the Konoe family paid to build this house. And trust me, thirty years of monthly budgets aren't even going to come _close _to what it cost to buy and build this place."

Since Konoka didn't work, and Kyo was still apprenticed to his grandmother Norah Wallward in their Software company, they had zero income to support their household. It was bad enough that they had to receive an allowance from his family every month to pay expenses, so there was no way Kyo was going to beg for more.

Even wringing their budget to the bone by having his friends staff his new house, Kyo knew that if costs for Konoka's research went up again, he'd have to start coming up with new solutions. But that was his worry for another time.

"Sorry Kyo, but I've got another problem for you," Hazan said apologetically, rolling around his desk to swivel beside him. "The research team is getting antsy…they called me to ask for a protective guard, but I don't have any people to spare—and besides, I doubt we could do any good, considering our _last _performance at the Wards. But they're threatening to walk if they don't get some protection."

Gritting his teeth, Kyo thought rapidly as he tried to multi-task and check his reminder texts at the same time. "Ethan, did you arrange for the furniture pick-up tomorrow morning?"

"Lady Konoka already took care of that," Ethan told him, and he started tidying Kyo's office for him. Even though Ethan was often the one who caused the messes in the first place, but Kyo appreciated the effort. His best friend only chilled so much when the three of them were privately together. "She and I have also sorted out this month's servant shifts, and also the final design for the staff uniforms."

"That's good," Kyo said absently. "Hazan, do you have any ideas?"

"Well…a few," Hazan offered. "You're not going to like them much though," she warned.

"Just go." Kyo saw another invite message to video-conference with his father, and clicked the "Close" button again.

"One, is for you to hire one of Konoka-sama's old friends…I'm sure that Setsuna or Mana-san could recommend someone to us. I'm sure that one or two of them could manage to protect the whole place."

"Can't—money. Next idea?"

"We could make Pactios with Konoka-sama?"

"What?" Both Kyo and Ethan exclaimed.

"What?" Hazan asked. "It would automatically make all of the guards more bad-ass, so we could probably afford to lend a few of us to have guard shifts at the Wards. Not to mention having Artefacts would be awesome."

"I'm not letting a bunch of people kiss my wife!"

"Besides," Ethan added, "_you're _a girl!"

"So?" Hazan rolled her eyes, crossing her arms in annoyance. "Setsuna did it, and so did, like, tons of other mages and their partners before."

"Setsuna-san has a Pactio with Konoka?" Kyo startled. Then he thought about it and mused, "Well, I suppose it happened before we were married…"

"That was exactly my point," muttered Ethan, his expression darkening. "No wonder she looks at her that way."

"Hm?" Another pop-up appeared, and Kyo closed it again, trying to finish with his emails and the conversation they were having. "About Setsuna-san?"

"Nothing," Ethan grumbled, in that tone where he was too exasperated with Kyo missing something obvious to bother explaining further. "Any better ideas, Hazan?"

"Well…" She looked guilty. "We could get Kyo and Konoka-sama to finish their research by the Wards. Then we could cover both of them _and _the research team…not to mention that Konoka-sama's personal guards would be there to assist as well."

"Too dangerous!" protested Ethan, right as Kyo said, "That might be a good idea…" They stopped to stare at each other.

"Collateral damage, much?" Ethan scowled. "All the demons will be heading right for the lady, and you're likely to chuck your chivalrous head right in the way."

"It'll be fine! I'm not useless in a fight, you know. Besides, Konoka had told me that she's just about ready to test her spells on the Wards themselves soon, it could all work."

"Uh, maybe," Hazan said, her dark hair falling forward as she leaned in, her eyes flashing, "but Setsuna's going to blow a gasket and refuse."

"So?" Ethan frowned. "It's not her place to say."

"Konoka-sama's probably going to go with whatever Setsuna says, and you know it."

"I'll ask Konoka later," Kyo jumped in to resolve the conflict before the two of them started a fight. His Blackberry buzzed, and after checking the text, Kyo winced and accepted the video-conference call from his father. "Good evening, Father. Did you want something?"

"Yes, a grandson," Castor Wallward rumbled, glaring at his son. "Did you want my report on magical links and sources, or not?"

Kyo flinched. And that was exactly why he hated talking with his father…"Sorry Father, I was occupied with other business earlier."

"I'm your damn father; business number one is me, understand?"

"Yes Father."

"Hmpf." Castor glanced down at his notes. "You said that the Koyane Wards were showing irregular activity in their magical power levels and stability; well, working off the theory that the Wards could be affected by a secondary source, I did some searching on magical linking. I found that there are a few historical cases of spells being affected by outside influences—the Mass Glamour spell in 1340 could be affected by iron, and so on. The records don't show if the pattern matches what you've found with the Wards, but it's not impossible."

"Thank you, Father. I appreciate your help."

"Part of the job." He eyed Kyo keenly, his blond hair neat even at the late hour. They always joked that Kyo got his dark and messy hair from his mother, who kept her hair short to prevent the crazier messes from occurring. Kyo felt an urge to reach up and try to tidy himself, but he resisted, staring firmly but meekly back at his father.

"Excuse me Father, but I'll be passing the news on to Konoka."

"Very well. Give your wife my regards."

"I will." He closed the video feed and let out a tired groan.

"Maybe you should go to bed," Hazan whispered, keeping her voice down to prevent waking Ethan, who was asleep and snoring on Kyo's couch.

"Can't," Kyo replied, closing his laptop and pulling a sweater on. "I have to talk to Konoka about this—she wanted my help searching up stuff in the Database."

"Both of you should be sleeping. It's already Saturday, if you get what I mean."

He ignored her, creeping down the hall towards the library wing. The house was still, as the only people awake were the guards, and they were all on duty outside. Kyo wondered for a moment where Setsuna was, but then he shrugged and put it aside.

Rapping once on the library door, Kyo inched it open. "Konoka?"

**O**

September 18, 2009

_ Something about Kyo Wallward broke through Konoka's usual act during her omiais, so that when she smiled at him she let some warmth and encouragement through instead of keeping it hidden behind her polite mask. Maybe it was how he looked down a lot, as if suffering silently that he wouldn't be good enough for her and already giving up before they had even started dinner, that made Konoka take notice. _

_ She would be looking down too, if she had Setsuna glaring at her menacingly, as her champion had the tendency to do on Konoka's omiais ever since their Magical World adventures._

_ He noticed her smile and blushed, taking a breath as if to forestall any ungentlemanly fidgeting, and gave her a timid smile in return. "Konoka-san, you look…lovely today."_

_ Konoka had to resist giggling—he sounded sincere, but the line was so cliché it was as if the poor man was following a script. "Thank you, Kyo-kun. Do you like to read books?" She already knew that he did, from his resume that Grandpa had shown her, but if she had let Kyo start the conversation they'd be finished dessert before they got past the pleasantries._

_ Kyo brightened, immediately looking far more at ease and excited. "Yes, I do! Although I must complete my studies in computers and economics, I like to read about magic in any spare moment I can find. Do you enjoy reading about magic as well, Konoka-san?"_

_ "I do, but most of what I've learned about magic were taught to me by my teacher," Konoka said, delighted that they were actually talking about something interesting. The first course came right then, but neither of them noticed as they began sharing their favourite texts with each other._

**O**

"Kyo?" Konoka jerked out of her doze, hastily trying to look more awake. "Oh, do you have some time now?"

"Always, if you need something from me," he offered, coming over to sit beside her. She smiled at him; even though half the time he responded the classic way that he had learned to as a gentleman rather than what he might really be thinking, Konoka still appreciated it the other half of the time.

"I was hoping you could help me search up some schematics of Multi-unit Looping spells?" She yawned, covering her mouth with one hand while waving the library computer mouse to start the sleeping browser.

"Sure," Kyo agreed, angling the keyboard and tapping away in a flurry of keys. "It'll be just a few minutes."

Konoka nodded sleepily, and leaned back into her chair. "It's a good thing we got such comfortable chairs for the library, huh?"

He chuckled. "Yeah…but I spend half my time getting lost in books right after I pull them off the shelves, so I don't use them much."

"You always did that," Konoka smiled, resting her head on the chair arm. But Konoka hadn't minded…she always had someone to keep her company, after all.

**O**

October 5, 2009

_ "Where are you going, Kono-chan?"_

_ Konoka slipped her arm through her jacket sleeve, feeling Setsuna grab the collar and pull slightly to help her ease into her jacket without too much thrashing. "Thanks!" She captured Setsuna's hand, threading their fingers together, giggling as her friend blushed automatically. "I'm going out shopping with Kyo-kun."_

_ "Wallward-san?" Setsuna asked, her brown eyes chilling just a fraction._

_ "Jealous?" Konoka teased, glomping Setsuna's arm. When she didn't feel Setsuna tense at her motion she beamed and snuggled indecently close. _

_ "Jealous?" Setsuna stuttered, her face exploding red and her best friend stumbled back as if trying to nervously flee, but not really. Konoka moved with her, giggling. She waited to see if Setsuna was going to protest more, but Setsuna seemed to still be overwhelmed._

_ "You're welcome to come along," she said innocently, but when Setsuna's expression remained miserable, Konoka relented and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Don't worry Set-chan, you _are _coming along—how can I hold your hand if you're not there?"_

_ "Hold my…hand?" stammered her adorable guardian._

_ "Kyo-kun and I are book-shopping," Konoka told her, smiling. She kissed Setsuna's cheek again, right at the corner of her mouth and letting her lips linger. When she pulled back she was delighted to see Setsuna blushing again, but with a warm light in her eyes this time. "He has a new grimoire that he wants to buy, but we're going to browse the bookstores while we're at it. We're just friends."_

_ Setsuna mumbled something, and Konoka tilted her head. "What did you say?"_

_ Setsuna's hand squeezed Konoka's for a second, and daringly, Setsuna repeated in a thrillingly possessive tone, "_Good_." _

**O**

"Are you cold?" Kyo asked, noticing Konoka's shiver but mis-interpreting why.

She flushed. "No, it's alright."

"Oh, okay." He continued scrolling through the search results. "Sorry it's taking a while, I think Uncle Alden updated the search engine since the last time I used it."

"It's fine." Konoka closed her eyes.

She was tired, but she'd rather spend as long as she could in the library rather than go to bed. In the twilight hours as she was falling asleep or just waking up, her mind would play tricks on her. They would start out like a dream, but once she remembered she would wake to a nightmare.

And to think…just one night could change everything.

Just one ill-fated Halloween.

Konoka felt tears seep under her eyelids.

**O**

November 7, 2009

_ "Um…something wrong, Konoka-san?"_

_ Oh god, she must be looking entirely devastated if the sweet but clueless Kyo had noticed that her mood was off. Konoka tried to smile but failed, and she covered it up by taking a drink of her tea. _

I pushed my best friend and true love too far too fast, and now she's regressed back to her self-deprecating, distant and depressed middle-school state. _But she couldn't say that, so she picked something else. "Family business trouble. It's a secret, but…the Koyane Wards have a problem."_

_ "The Koyane Wards?" Kyo's eyes widened, and he tugged at his hair convulsively. "My god, really? Your family are the Wards' keepers, aren't you?"_

_ "Yes, something that I found out just a week ago," Konoka scowled, staring morosely into her teacup. "And it's apparently _my _responsibility to fix them—but how can I? I don't know _anything _about the Koyane Wards! What's wrong with them, how they were made, how I can fix them, what on Earth is going on—"_

_ "Hey!" Kyo grabbed her hand soothingly. "You don't have to do it alone."_

_ "Huh?"_

_ "You've got tons of friends, right? Like the Thousand Master's son, and your father and grandfather, and all your old classmates, right?" He adjusted his tie, smiling with a hint of familial pride. "And I'll help! My family spent the last decade compiling magical texts from public and private collections, and archived 90% of all the grimoires and artworks related to magic in Europe and Japan. If you need to find anything, I'm your man!"_

**O**

"Are you ready to field test your spells yet?"

"I…" Konoka paused and thought harder. After spending her whole life with Setsuna, she was well aware of how spread thin the Wallward guards were. Setsuna and Mana were even worse—if Asuna didn't occasionally provide them an unofficial relief, Konoka doubted that her Set-chan would even bother with the four hours of sleep she got a day. And that was if Setsuna actually got restful sleep during those hours.

There must be trouble at the Wards…or the researchers wanted some protection, and wanted Konoka to be there, so that she could bring Setsuna and Mana with her. Konoka didn't blame them—she'd want Setsuna and Mana watching over her in a place like that too.

Another thought occurred to her…if she was at the Wards, then Setsuna would close in the perimeter guard, to add to her security. There'd be no way Setsuna could stay hidden out of sight and still provide the safety needed.

"Sure. Can we go tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Kyo looked surprised. "I suppose…maybe give Ethan a half-day to sort out all our supplies? Tents and food and such…"

"I'll organize it," Konoka said quickly. If Ethan did it, then he'd be double-checking with her all day anyways—she might as well do it herself, and leave him to collect the items. "Can you pack the books? I only need the four on that shelf there, and my notes are all in the drawer."

"Alright." Kyo squinted, then pulled up some images, scanning through them. "Ah, I got an interesting report from my father just now."

"What was it about?"

"He found evidence to support the idea that maybe the odd fluctuations in the Wards are due to an outside influence—" Kyo froze mid-sentence.

"What?" Konoka blinked.

"Outside source…" Shoving his glasses up, Kyo quickly spun to look at Konoka directly. "What if it's not _influencing _it, but _providing _the fluctuations?"

"…pardon?" Konoka was confused but his excitement was infectious. She leaned in and grabbed his arm. "What's your idea?"

**O**

November 13, 2009

_ "Hey Kyo-kun! Did you find the Fujiwara Scroll of—"_

"_Konoka-san!" She stopped mid-sentence, surprised at his interjection. Kyo bowed, inclining deeply in the Japanese fashion of apology. "My deepest apologies."_

_ "Kyo-kun?"_

_ Without straightening, he continued in a formal tone, "I regret that I have to renege on my promise of aid to you and your family. Unfortunately, I had pledged the usage of property that belonged to my honoured family, namely the Wallward Head of family, my honoured grandmother. That property is not mine to use lightly. I have been tasked to offer the use of our database technology to the Konoe family, after appropriate negotiations with your head of family, the honoured Konoe Konoemon."_

_ All the "honoured" and "family" junk made Konoka's head spin, and it took her a few seconds to work out what Kyo was saying. "So we can't use your family's database? They have to work out some kind of deal with Grandpa? But aren't we friends?"_

_ The formal, heir-of-the-family mask fell from Kyo's face then, and he straightened, looking firm but ashamed. "We are. But my grandmother said that she will only discuss permission to use our family legacy with your grandfather. I'm sorry."_

_ "Well, that's alright then," Konoka said, trying to be cheerful. "I'm sure Grandpa can sort it all out."_

_ But her heart plummeted. _

_She wasn't a naïve fourteen-year old anymore._

_ Ever since Ala Alba's adventures in the Magical World, Konoka knew something about manipulation and deals. Fate had taught her that people are powerful resources—and that some would treat them as nothing more than objects to be used…or traded. _

**O**

"Okay…" Kyo tried to calm down enough to explain the leaps his brain had jumped so that Konoka could be on the same page. "Theoretically, it's possible to cast a spell but have the source of its power come from a different location than the caster or the object in which the spell was imbued, right?"

"I guess…but the source would have to be able to continuously create its own magic," Konoka said slowly.

"Ah, right," Kyo acknowledged. "So in this case, while the exterior of the Wards may fluctuate in stability a little, the magical levels don't match up all the time, right?"

"Yes, that's something that has puzzled your researchers," responded Konoka patiently.

"If the original mages who created the Koyane Wards laid their spells on the stones, but to ensure that the spell would continue past their deaths, linked the casting-spell to _something else—_that could possibly explain the patterns we've observed! The magical levels depend on that second magical source!"

"But we're still at the same problems," Konoka pointed out tiredly. "One problem: the physically weak Ward-stones. Second problem: the broken Wards could crash and release god-like _oni _at any moment."

Kyo deflated a little. "The problems are the same, yes…but for the second problem, if we can find whatever is providing the mana for the Ward spell, we could either fix it or add to its strength, and maybe that could fix the Sealing spell once and for all."

"That's just a theory though," Konoka countered, although she pondered the implications. "We can't know for sure…maybe we could try tracing the magical circuits in the Wards?" Her mood dropped further. "The magical levels are close to dangerously low now…we might not even be able to find enough to trace."

"One problem at a time," Kyo said suddenly, taking her hand and squeezing. "Finish your spell, and protect the Ward-stones. Who knows, maybe we could be lucky—maybe once you fix the stones themselves, the Koyane Wards would be back to normal."

"Wishful thinking," she smiled weakly.

"Always keep on hoping, yes?"

**O**

February 10, 2010

_ "Marry him!"_

_ "That's…" Konoemon sighed, tossing out all the cleverly worded talk and going straight to the bone. "Yes. They're offering to pool all their resources with ours, including the use of their Magical Text Database and their research teams and devices."_

_ "And they want me," Konoka said quietly, "in exchange." Marry heir to heir, and unite the two families through her and Kyo. She knew that the Wallwards weren't offering lightly, nor was her grandfather considering their request on a whim. In the last three months Konoka and her family had gotten nowhere in their research and attempts to divine the extent of the damage to the Koyane Wards, as the Kansai and Kanto Magical Associations had their own myriad of troubles to deal with. There just weren't enough people resources they could trust to help Konoka, and the Wards were so complicated that isolating which components of it were failing and which were still working just wasn't possible with the technology and mages that they had._

_ Konoka's family and friends were mostly warrior mages._

_ The Wallwards dealt with wards and barriers and research as their specialty. It was the only way their weak family mages managed to make a name for themselves in the magical society._

_ And Konoka had a deadline, one that was ticking down day by day._

_ "You're really considering it!" She couldn't help accusing, her words coming out far more tearful than she had wanted. _

"_Konoka," her grandfather said, his eyes sympathetic and imploring. "If you answer my one question—if it is true—then I swear to you, I'll do anything I can to make a different offer to the Wallwards. I promise."_

_ Konoka stiffened, her fingers clenching tightly around the armrests of her chair._

_ Konoemon paused, then asked, "Are you and Setsuna-kun lovers?"_

_ She had never lied to her grandfather before. And she couldn't now._

_ "…No," she whispered, feeling her last bit of hope leave with that single word._

**O**

"Sure," she said softly, biting her lip and closing her eyes, slumped into her chair.

"Here, your schematics." The buzzing sound of the printer made Konoka look up, and Kyo handed her the warm, just printed sheets.

"Wow, when did you—even while we were talking?" Konoka marvelled, letting her admiration wash out her troubled thoughts.

"Multi-tasking," Kyo smiled, helping Konoka tuck the papers into her binder before lifting her to her feet. She stumbled, off-balance from exhaustion, and nearly took Kyo down with her. They looked at each other, and started laughing.

"I'm completely beat, you?" Konoka grinned.

"Ready to drop an hour ago," Kyo replied, taking her hand. "Let's go get some sleep."

The whole way to their room, Konoka couldn't help look around into the dark shadows, hoping for just one glimpse. But nothing.

_That's alright…tomorrow, I'll see Set-chan again. _

She couldn't ask Setsuna to come, but then Konoka was just going to have to slyly go towards _her _instead.

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

_**1. Nodoka appears! There will be another Ala Alba member appearing in Chapter 6...**_

_**2. I tried to flesh out Kyo a bit more, as well as provide some background on the Wallward family and what kind of internal politics may be going on there. Also, hopefully it's clearer how the Wallwards can help Konoka while her family can't, without diminishing anyone's skill! =)**_

_**3. Biggest thing of note in this chapter perhaps is the flashbacks of Konoka and Kyo's interactions...unfortunately, these flashbacks didn't mesh as well as the ones in Chapter 2 did, but I felt like a bit of history on those two might be needed to keep Kyo a round character.**_

_**4. Bit of a reference to the manga, with Rakan's teaching Setsuna the "In Celebration Of My First Kiss With Ojou-sama Strike"! **_


	7. Chapter VI

Chapter VI

_May 23, 2010_

_Koyane Wards_

"Asuna did a good job with them," Yue Ayase commented while sipping on a juice box, sitting on a crate beside Setsuna. Watching Hazan roll under Asuna's swing and succeed in slamming the base of her glaive into the redhead's ribs, Setsuna nodded.

"Yes, she did." Two weeks weren't very long to train average warriors into successfully using new tactics. Asuna did a really good job. Of the Wallward guards, only Hazan and a few more were decent enough to possibly fight a minor demon in a group and win, while the remaining half-dozen were hopeless for anything but defence. Of course, the fact that the decent fighters already knew how to use weapons made a difference. So given the people she had to work with, Asuna had done an amazing job indeed.

"Did you teach Asuna that reverse strike?"

"You can tell the style?" Setsuna asked, then she winced in apology. Seven years later, and she still sometimes forgot that like the other Library Club girls, Yue was more than just a bibliophile anymore. "Sorry."

Yue didn't seem offended, but answered at face value. "One of the things Emily has been after me to learn is identifying attack styles and looking for patterns. I'm good with the magic, but not as good with the physical fighting."

"Most mages aren't."

"Negi-sensei was." Yue smiled, and sucked on her straw thoughtfully. "And Kotarou and Evangeline-san too, I suppose."

Setsuna chuckled. "Most of the people we know aren't "most mages"." She watched Asuna outline a defensive style to the ring of Wallward guards, her hands moving as she explained the strategy. "Thank you for stopping by, Yue. It's good to see you again."

"Vacation time should be spent with your friends, right?" Yue said, a touch sadly as her unsaid lack of family hung in the sentence. "Plus, the Koyane Wards are a fascinating mystery, so I'm pretty interested in Konoka's research."

The reminder made Setsuna consciously check for Konoka's position, although her charge hadn't moved from the open-walled research tent where she had been for the last hour (and the last thirty times Setsuna had _unconsciously_ checked). "You could go talk with her about them."

"Oh no, I couldn't—I don't want to get in the way, I'm just a visitor."

"You're a friend. Go on," Setsuna encouraged, keeping her gaze on Konoka. From how agitated and nervous Konoka's movements were all day, Setsuna guessed that maybe Konoka planned on trying her spell today. The brunette had been up before dawn and hadn't stopped working since, and Setsuna wanted to see her eat something. "Offer to have lunch with her, and get her to talk about them. She'd be happy to."

"You haven't changed too much fundamentally, have you?" Yue asked her, an amused twitch to her lips.

"Fundamentally?"

"Yeah," nodded Yue, smoothing out her Ariadne Knight uniform. "Still gladly watching over her."

If only it was as simple as that. "I suppose. It's my job."

"It's a job you've had for a long time, isn't it?"

Setsuna shrugged. "It's a job I had ever since I saved her from a dog when we were little. It's how we met, and from that moment Eishun-sama made me her guardian. Beside her or from the shadows, it doesn't matter."

Yue inclined her head. "You're not avoiding her because you're shy. And not because you don't love her." Setsuna flinched at the word choice. She had forgotten how intuitive and blunt Yue could be when she put her mind to it. "If it's hurting both of you, then why do you do it?"

God, did _everyone_ have to ask at least once? Setsuna continued watching Asuna's training session silently, noting how Asuna was always careful to swing her giant sword _away_ from the Koyane Wards, in case of accidents.

"I do my job better at a distance. Preventative guarding instead of reactionary defence."

"Ah, but perimeter guards should preferably be ranged fighters, right?" Yue quoted from her own guard training.

"Mana can be a close fighter," Setsuna said, answering the other half of the perimeter vs. close guard debate. She tapped Yuunagi against the crate she was sitting on, balancing her nodachi between her legs. "I think you should go have that talk with Ojou-sama now."

"Hm." Yue finished her juice box. "Have you ever thought of moving on?"

Her eye twitched, and Setsuna tightened her grip on Yuunagi uncomfortably.

"First love doesn't have to be only love," Yue said quietly, looking at Konoka.

"That might be true," Setsuna agreed passively.

Another pause, then Yue got to her feet and put a hand on Setsuna's shoulder. Having seen the motion out of the corner of her eye, Setsuna didn't jump when she felt the contact. "I'll leave you alone about it, Setsuna. But think about it, okay?"

She could only nod, not wanting to risk overtly lying by agreeing aloud.

Setsuna watched Yue walk over to Konoka, and the two of them engaged in conversation before heading off to the kitchen tent. Yue was right, but Setsuna had tried moving on once. Even before her epic fail with the kite, she had known that she wouldn't succeed.

"_Kono-chan_," she muttered, feeling the weight of the name in her heart.

**O**

"Something is wrong with the Koyane Wards…that's the whisper that's been travelling through the cities closest to gateports," Yue said, apologetic. She scraped at the bottom of her bowl with a spoon to get the last bits of a soup that tasted alright, although Konoka was beginning to tire of it after two weeks. The cook was some other childhood friend of Kyo's, and his cooking was so mediocre that it all tasted the same. "Which is worse than public announcements, in my opinion, since whispers reach the more _unsavoury_ parts of society."

Konoka groaned. "I know. We've been attacked four times in the last week, mostly from rogue demons." She had overheard Mana and Setsuna speculating if they might have spies or traitors in the Wallward servants who might have spilled critical information from the camp. Strictly, the fact that only Konoka has the key to disabling Negi's barrier to allow passage in and out of the clearing—and that she had a spell that would—_might—_fix up that physical weakness. In her opinion, she thought that the attacks were just random bad luck. Besides, she was a hot target anyways—the reason wouldn't matter much.

"They can't get through Negi-sensei's barrier, can they?"

"Not easily." Konoka shivered and glanced at the invisible dome that enclosed them, a few flashes of floating runes the only indication that the barrier was present at all. "We did have one scare when a mage got by the barrier and nearly broke one of the stones, but I got him before he could do any permanent harm."

Yue looked at her in impressed surprise. "You did? With what?"

"_Fulguratio Albicans._"

"White Lightening? That's a difficult one. I thought that you specialized in healing?" Yue asked, curious.

"At some point, I learned that sometimes healing just isn't good enough." Staring at her hands, Konoka watched them clench into fists and tremble in her lap. "So I branched out."

"Why did you stop?"

Konoka shrugged, trying to smile. "I wanted to learn some useful magic. Not," she added sheepishly, "that healing isn't useful. But there were too many things I couldn't do."

Yue frowned.

After a pause, Konoka held up the teapot. "More tea?"

Silently, Yue held out her cup.

"Back in Ostia," Konoka said softly, pouring the tea. "I watched Negi and Asuna get hurt. Hurt in ways that I can't heal, inside their heads."

"Hmmm," was all Yue said to that, and Konoka was thankful that the other girl didn't add any more names to that list. Yue cupped her mug in her hands, watching the steam sketch lines in the air.

Konoka rubbed her knuckles absently. "I wanted to help, not always cower in the back and wait. I wanted to be strong, just like everyone else."

"You pushed your boundaries too," Yue said kindly. "Didn't you master healing wounds with no time limit in high school?"

"Years behind everyone else," Konoka sighed.

"It's really easy to destroy things." Yue patted her hand, her voice serious. "It's easy to hurt people. I really admire you, you know? Because you can make people better. It's something not many of us can do, you know."

Yes, most of their friends were combat mages, or intelligence support. Konoka was well aware of that fact.

"I'm honoured. That makes me feel a little bad, you know?" Konoka shrugged her shoulders painfully. "It makes me sound like I don't appreciate the skills I have. I am happy that I can heal my friends, but…"

_*The familiar feeling of Setsuna's body pressed against her woke Konoka up. But all Konoka could smell was copper, and under Setsuna's unmoving body she could see blood and feathers everywhere, shadowed by her broken wings._

_ "SET-CHAN!" _

_ In the distance, their friends fought. And all Konoka could do was clutch her precious guardian to her, helpless.*_

She had far too many memories similar to that one. Biting her lip, Konoka closed her eyes for a moment. "I never want to hold her like that again."

"I know," whispered Yue, and Konoka saw the shadow of the Lifemaker in her eyes. Yue _did_ understand.

"Konoka…is it worth it?" Yue met her gaze, her lavender eyes serious and sad.

"Being strong and not a damsel-in-distress?" Konoka joked, pushing the food around her plate.

"Having her near, but not needing her," Yue said quietly, and Konoka knew that she didn't just mean the security.

"Is love worth a friendship?" Konoka asked in return, even though she knew that it was a biased question.

"If you mean Negi-sensei and Nodoka," Yue answered, "then no." She turned away to stare at the rest of the camp, and Konoka followed her gaze, watching Kyo and his researchers gather around one of the monitors and argue about the readings. Almost absently, Yue continued, "But I know that sometimes it is. Don't let Setsuna die before you finally realize it."

A cold stone dropped in Konoka's stomach, and she laughed to ease her tension. "I thought you were supposed to get me to relax?" She shivered, dropping her head into her hands as a wave of nausea coiled in her stomach and travelled up her throat. "I don't feel so great…"

"Maybe you should put off casting your spell?" Yue said worriedly, grabbing Konoka's wrists.

She shook her head sharply, and quickly sat up and tried to look healthy before Setsuna noticed. Konoka knew that Mana already had, but hopefully the mercenary wouldn't say anything. "No, I'm doing it today. Everyone's been hyper-vigilant long enough, I owe it to them."

Yue's brow furrowed, and her childhood librarian friend made to speak but right then Konoka pulled away to greet Kyo, who had loped over with an almost relaxed expression on his face.

"Konoka, are you ready to go? The researchers have been watching the magical flares in the Wards as you asked, and we just had a big one."

"Perfect." Konoka smiled, drawing out her fans and snapping them open. She had designed her fans after the ones she got from her Pactio with Negi; the consistency soothed her, and dulled the sad edge of remembering when she had to break her probationary contract with Negi. She walked with Kyo's escort towards the Wards. Yue trailed behind, breaking off to stand beside Setsuna and Asuna near the periphery.

Konoka could feel Setsuna watching her, and she peeked under her lashes to see the encouraging, faithful glance that her friend sent her way, thinking herself unseen.

"Wish me luck," Konoka muttered as she took a breath, then began chanting the healing spell, slipping into the power of her materializing runes.

**O**

"Good luck, Konoka-sama," Hazan murmured as she stood at attention, part of the ring of Wallward guards standing around the Koyane Wards as they all watched Konoka perform her spell. Wisps of sparkling mist flowed from Konoka's fans, building into glowing stars that anchored the edges of her growing spell.

"If you're standing guard," Mana said dryly, facing the woods with her rifle held ready in her hands, "you guys should be turned the _other _way."

Hazan flushed and winced at herself. To her credit, Setsuna knew that Hazan wasn't stupid, but the sight of a powerful mage—_beautiful and ethereal_—like Konoka would make anybody stop and stare in awe. As for herself, Setsuna barely heard Hazan shouting at her comrades to correct themselves. Her hands were curved like claws around Yuunagi as Setsuna glanced around the clearing, her eyes darting back and forth as her shoulders twitched, ready to burst into violence at any stimulus.

This was all wrong.

She should be at Konoka's side, protecting her like a Ministra.

"You can go closer, if you like." Mana's voice was a droll drawl, but so soft that even though the three of them were standing together Hazan didn't hear it.

Equally lightly, Setsuna replied, "I'd likely ruin things."

"Trouble!" Hazan yelled, pointing with her glaive. Setsuna whirled, whipping Yuunagi out and realized that pulses of light wavered across Negi's barrier—someone was unravelling the runes. A hooded mage chanted at the perimeter, arms raised in spell-casting.

"Keep going!" Kyo shouted at Konoka, who only seemed half-aware of the commotion as her healing spell gleamed around her. Setsuna looked for her friends and fixed their positions into her mind as she moved closer defensively to Konoka. She let her wings burst from her back, the exhilarating pain and rush of power drawing a gasp from Setsuna's lips.

A horde of summons charged at them, following the raised finger of the hooded mage as armed fighters burst from the tree cover around them, closing in the distance with battle-cries. Rattling gunfire greeted them as Mana dropped into a firing stance and shot through the barrier to thin out their lines. "_Adeat!_" Setsuna heard Asuna and Yue shout, and Setsuna bit her lip to keep her silence.

Negi's barrier strained like a squished bubble, then shattered. The runes flared like dying suns before they sizzled into shining dust. Hundreds of _shikigami _summons burst through the glittering clouds as they preceded the mercenary fighters to attack.

Yue struck first. "99 Spirits of Light, Gather and shoot arrows upon my foe. Magic arrows, Array of light!" Her barrage of flaming arrows thinned out the _shikigami _horde while Asuna swung her sword with a yell, banishing a wave of constructs in one blow. The redhead was pulling her swings, because if she accidentally angled her sword back too far they would all find out firsthand whether Magic Cancel worked on ancient stone Wards. Unfortunately, it meant that Asuna couldn't turn to help them when the two hooded swordsmen darted past.

Setsuna flew at the one heading for Konoka, catching his downstrike with Yuunagi. Her block sheared through his katana, throwing the swordsman dangerously off-balance. She clubbed him in the head with her sword hilt, hearing a crack as the man went down hard.

Yue had already engaged the second swordsman, wielding her large sword with well-practiced ease. It looked like she had it under control, so Setsuna dared to survey the whole battle. Absently, she sliced two summons in half—they fluttered into torn charms that blew away in the fight breeze.

This didn't make much sense at all—even after breaking Negi's barrier shield, there were too many guards for any mercenary band to take easily. Hazan and the other Wallward guards were collectively dealing with a hulking fighter who resembled Rakan, although this man had none of Rakan's talent and looked to be losing to them.

"So why are they here?" Setsuna whispered, even as her instincts prompted her body forward in a run towards Konoka, sword-first.

She recalled the name of the mercenary band now—the Wilddogs: she recognized the Twin Swordsmen, and the Hulking Man and Hooded Mage and—

—the Blue Assassin_. _

_ Assassin_.

"_NO!_" Setsuna screamed, feeling the blood run hot inside her as she put all her energy into her mad dash. As fast as she moved, she still saw the blue blur erupt from the long grass cover and rise like a striking viper behind Konoka.

**O**

_ Blood sprayed hot and meaty over Setsuna's face._

_ She tasted it in her mouth._

_ Konoka's blood, from her lips. Setsuna froze, and raised a trembling hand to her teeth._

_ Blood._

_ Her hands, blood-covered._

_ "WHAT DID YOU DO?" Asuna screamed, running and shoving Setsuna aside. She fell to her knees and clutched at Konoka's body. Setsuna stumbled back, her hair blowing across her face in a flurry of white._

_ White hair, claws…Setsuna let out a wail, rocking back on her heels as her wings opened to balance her. It can't be! _

_ "MONSTER!" Asuna howled, launching herself at Setsuna with her sword in both hands._

_ "KONOKA!" Setsuna cried, tasting blood in her mouth and feeling a dark rush inside her head. She deserved to die, just let Asuna's blade move unhindered towards her neck…_

*Live. You're faster than her…*

This is a lie.

*Don't hide from the truth…*

_She killed Konoka. She tore out her love's throat—_

IT'S A LIE!

I didn't kill her. I…

_I…killed Konoka._

**Kill** anyone who touches her—

**O**

Konoka was lost inside her spell. The runes glittered, written perfectly in the air and on the broken ward-stone. An endless loop of healing, in a spell that Konoka was pumping to a level that had never been done before.

The worst that could happen was that her spell would explode and destroy the ward and all her friends.

A step up on that would be that her spell would fail, go out of control, and consume her.

If she was lucky, it would work. If she was very lucky.

…Konoka had omitted mentioning this point to Setsuna and Kyo.

More magic poured from her skin into the spell, creating coloured wisps of light that tinkled as they swirled around her. Through the haze the sounds and sight of her friends fighting came to Konoka in snatches, like a skipping DVD player with the image and sound separated.

—Asuna made another powerful swing, her enormous single-edged sword slicing the rush of monsters into a paper storm. Konoka didn't have Asuna to fix things if her spell went awry.

—Yue wielded her own massive Ariadne knight sword, duelling with a swordsman while firing nine blazing spell-arrows from her left hand.

—At a distance, magical barriers rose and shattered, and a giant man bellowed and lashed at the smaller figures darting around him.

Mixed through all this chaos was bursts of gunfire, coming in and out of Konoka's hearing.

Frozen, Konoka could only watch, struggling to sustain her healing spell long enough for it to solidify into her endless loop pattern; but she couldn't turn her focus away until she knew that Setsuna was—

Something blue came into her field of vision. Konoka held her breath, her heart pounding hard, and she felt a gloved hand brush her arm as that terrifying presence moved close, a flash of steel shining silver.

Then blue and colour all transformed into purest red.

Her spell flickered—then the runes crumbled to dust, and all light died.

**O**

So easy.

Impassively, Setsuna carved Yuunagi up diagonally across the Blue Assassin's chest.

Just a nice crescent arc.

She calmly watched his eyes whiten in terror as he choked, his hand slipping from Konoka's arm as his long knife tumbled into the grass blade-first. If they had been half a step closer to each other, Setsuna could have separated him in two. But still, she did the job.

Easy.

The sensation of cutting through human flesh felt just like slicing into demons, but needing less force to carve through bone.

"Easy," Setsuna muttered, flicking blood off her sword, a disappointed tone in that word.

Konoka jerked around, her spell falling into pieces around her as she frantically waved her fans, casting a healing glow around the dying man. Her white habit was absolutely stained from the bloodspray and her eyes were wide in her pale face. She didn't look at Setsuna at all.

"You killed him!" Asuna exclaimed, horrified.

Setsuna laughed, hearing a slightly mad note in her own voice. "I did. Ojou-sama fixed that, but that's her, isn't it? I'm not like that." She jerked Yuunagi up to her throat, the blade edge touching her skin. "Kill anyone who hurts Ojou-sama." She whipped Yuunagi across her neck in a flash, the edge scant millimetres from her skin as she flicked the tip aside at the end of her slice. "Easy."

Asuna's blue-green eyes narrowed, and Setsuna waited for some violent display of anger from her friend. After a slow inhale, Asuna turned sharply and marched over to where Hazan and Mana were tying up the defeated Wilddogs and lining them up on the ground. Setsuna focused back on the gurgling assassin and her charge.

With one last chant and flutter of her fans, Konoka stopped, panting and urgently checking the man's pulse, pressing her fingers against his bloody neck. When she had reassured herself that her would-be killer would live, Konoka's hands dropped to her knees and she shook, her long chestnut hair concealing her face.

Setsuna sunk her sword into the ground and crouched close to Konoka. "Ojou-sama?" She wanted to touch her, but hesitated. Doubtlessly, Konoka wouldn't want comfort from the one who brought her such anguish in the first place. Instead, Setsuna grasped the Blue Assassin by the collar and pulled, dragging his limp form over the rest of his teammates.

"Demon bitch," the Hooded Mage snarled at Setsuna, glaring as she dumped his comrade beside him. Even Asuna slapping him upside the head with her harisan didn't stop him from growling, "I'll celebrate the day our master cuts out your murderous heart."

"Sure," Setsuna replied coolly, cleaning her nodachi before him with a handkerchief. "Who is your master, so that I know later who I'm killing?"

"Setsuna," Mana said lowly, her eyes keenly hard.

That caused Setsuna to pause. She sheathed Yuunagi and withdrew her wings, grunting as they folded and sunk into her back. Lately, it hurt to bring her wings back in. Setsuna tried to ignore the implications of that.

Suddenly, shame settled into Setsuna's stomach, stealing all her words. Nobody else said anything—Setsuna knew that they were all staring at her. She didn't care about the others, but even her friends looked at her with mixed expressions.

She didn't look at any of them in the eyes. No need to remind them just what she was.

Footsteps sounded behind her, and Setsuna stepped aside for Konoka. Red-eyed yet steadily holding her fans, Konoka addressed the Hooded Mage in a commanding voice.

"Speak—who sent you here?"

"Now that you've leashed your dog, I'm a bit more inclined to talk," the Mage drawled. "But unfortunately, I've only been given one message to relay, and it's to the bitch over there." Now he smiled in a mock kindly fashion to Setsuna, his eyes narrowed in glee. "My master's message to you is this:

"_I said that we'd meet again, Senpai._"

Konoka froze, staring at Setsuna helplessly as her guardian stilled into marble, the pain in her red eyes shifting from anguish and rage into something that Konoka had never wanted to see again.

Fear.

**O**

December 29, 2007

_ Negi shouted, bringing his magic-enforced fist forward and connected squarely with Fate, who was yelling a spell that Konoka couldn't make out. She saw the rest of her friends start, then run for cover as the magic grew in intensity between the two, building to a roaring maelstrom that quickly pulsed, throwing the chamber into silence. She gasped, then Konoka felt herself get scooped into Setsuna's arms while white feathers swept around both of them, just like the gateport incident. _

_ The explosion hit, and Konoka felt Setsuna grunt as she took the shockwave squarely, waiting for the dust to clear before she furled her wings and loosened her grip on Konoka. In the center of the cave, Negi was staring incredulously at Fate's body, which was turning into dust as Asuna stepped up to hug him around the shoulders. _

_ But that wasn't Konoka's first worry. "Are you okay?" Konoka asked, touching Setsuna in concern._

_ Setsuna flinched away, paling. Konoka felt the blood drain from her own face as she slowly removed her hand. "I'm so sorry." _I forgot, _she couldn't say._

_ "Sorry," Setsuna said, looking down in shame and self-loathing. _

_ "SETSUNA!" They heard Kuu Fei yell in warning._

**O**

"Everyone, get back," Konoka said. She walked back towards the Koyane Wards, opening her fans with twin snaps.

"What are you doing?" Setsuna asked, her voice rising into nearly a demanding tone.

"Stay there!" Konoka growled, stopping all of them in their tracks. She faced the broken Ward-stone, closing her eyes and bringing her fans up. The first failed attempt and the emergency healing hadn't entirely drained her, but Konoka knew herself well enough to know that she needed food and rest before she tried any hare-brained stunts.

She ignored that part of herself.

The runes materialized easily—she had done them before now, and the ambient magic eagerly recoalesed into her healing spell. Twirling on the spot, Konoka swiftly re-sketched all the diagrams and thrust her arms out, letting loose ribbons of magic that sunk their ends into her floating runes. The broken Ward-stone began to glimmer faintly. Konoka bore down on the runes, pushing all of her will into funnelling magic into the glowing glyphs.

_I have to do it. _

_ I'm not weak _anymore_!_

**O**

_Setsuna whirled, bringing Yuunagi up and barely parrying Tsukuyomi's double swords before the girl whipped her sword in a backslash that cut a red line through Setsuna's shirt. _

_ "Set-chan!" Konoka cried, torn. She would only get in the way, but she wanted to rush in and defend her dearest friend. Throwing away logic, Konoka slid between Tsukuyomi and Setsuna, holding up her fans defensively._

_ "Ojou-sama?" Tsukuyomi giggled, licking her blade. "Are you really going to try?" In a flash, Konoka gasped as she felt herself get knocked aside and Tsukuyomi breezed by._

_ Stumbling, Setsuna looked up to see Tsukuyomi close the distance between them, slipping past Setsuna's frozen sword arm to run the edge of her blade up Setsuna's throat. _

_ "You're beautiful covered in blood, senpai," Tsukuyomi whispered, her lips moving closer to Setsuna's pale, paralyzed face. _

_ Konoka screamed, seeing a spray of red shower into the air._

_ Tsukuyomi twirled away, ripping her sword out of Setsuna's chest as Kaede's huge shuriken slammed into the ground where the small swordswoman had been. Kuu Fei sprang to engage Tsukuyomi as Setsuna gasped and crumpled to the ground. Konoka crawled over, quickly waving her fans to heal her._

_ "Ojou-sama!" Konoka couldn't help looking up, and met Tsukuyomi's smiling face. _

_ "Thanks for letting me by you so easily, I appreciated it," Tsukuyomi giggled, looking past the defensive Kaede and Kuu Fei as if they didn't exist. "Oh, I guess I'm unemployed now…I'll be back for senpai later."_

_ "Never!" Konoka spat, holding onto her Set-chan tightly._

_ Tsukuyomi only laughed, her eyes warm and amused behind her glasses. "Oh, silly Ojou-sama—she's already more mine than yours. You'll see!" She blew a kiss towards them and disappeared. _

_ "Wait for my return, senpai!" _

**O**

Nausea swamped her, nearly breaking Konoka's concentration. She choked, breaking her chant for an instant, before powering through the rest of the line.

She couldn't fail.

She had to prove to Set-chan…prove to her that Konoka wasn't weaker.

That she _could fight _that_ bitch._

She had to protect Set-chan.

Light radiated from the Ward-stone, the cracked runes on it lighting up and spreading to the other stones, bringing all the broken and corrupted portions forward while Konoka's looping spell fixed to the gaping crevasse in the rock.

_I'm stronger than before!_

Konoka _had _to be.

**O**

November 24, 2007

_Konoka wanted to cry, but she didn't have the time for that. After three terrifying weeks of not knowing where Setsuna was and unable to track her down in any way, she nearly burst into tears when her scrying spell gave her a location at last._

_ The moment they rose from Kotaro's teleport shadow the boy leapt out, facing the dark cave with his fists raised. "Alright lady, where are you? I don't like hitting girls, but you went too—"_

_ "Tsukuyomi's not here," Konoka whispered, cringing at the smell. Even Kotaro looked slightly pale at the thick blood stench that filled the whole tunnel. "Set-chan!"_

_ "She's here," Kotaro stated, sniffing. He took off down the tunnel, Konoka following right behind him. A set of stone doors barred their way, and Konoka could see the remnants of broken charm magics on the floor before Kotaro punched through it and they rushed in._

_ The chamber was empty except for the bracketed lanterns along the walls, a single dented and twisted metal bed by the far wall and—_

Set-chan.

**O**

"She's not looking so good," Yue murmured as they watched Konoka start to sweat, the strain evident on her face.

"She's doing it, though," Asuna breathed, clutching onto her sword tightly. Only Mana kept an eye on their captives; everyone else was spellbound.

All her instincts were screaming—yet Setsuna didn't know why. Under her skin, the demon sniffed, rumbling and curling to the surface. She felt her wings twitching, the feathers ruffling in a rippling itch across her spine. Setsuna bit her lip, fighting to keep her teeth dull human ones that wouldn't pierce her skin.

"She's going to hurt herself!" Setsuna pleaded, jolting forward.

Yue caught her by the jacket—she nearly got a reflexive backhand across the face for it. "Don't interrupt her, you could make it worse!"

"What can I do?" demanded Setsuna, shaking from the effort of not struggling. "Can't I give her magic? Can't _you?_"

All Yue could do was stare helplessly back at Setsuna without an answer.

Setsuna tore open her shirt pocket and plunged her hand in, pulling out the item that she kept always by her heart.

**O**

_Konoka quickly stripped off her robe while Kotarou blushed and shielded his eyes, his face red. "Set-chan?" Her friend didn't react, even when Konoka's robe drifted down to lay against her naked, bloody skin. Konoka waved her fans, but nothing happened. She knew that the wounds were likely far too old for her to heal, but she had hoped anyways. Biting back tears, Konoka reached for the cords binding Setsuna's hands above her head to the bedframe._

"_Wait!" Kotarou warned. He twitched at the glare Konoka sent him, but he continued. "Look at her eyes. I think she's been hurt a lot—if you untie her, she might accidentally kill you."_

_ Konoka looked back at Setsuna, swallowing hard. Setsuna lay like marble, pale and cold, with only the tinest rise and fall of her chest showing that she was indeed alive and alert. Red eyes watched her expressionlessly, pining her like a mouse in front of a raptor. She had no illusions as to what her Set-chan could do to her enemies, wounded and bare-handed. Konoka pulled out their Pactio card and put it to her forehead. Telepathically, she searched for the words to prove her identity._

Set-chan, I love you.

**O**

Konoka was inside the Wards, mentally racing along its magical circuits. The whole ward-spell jittered as fraily as a thin-spun spider's web. One touch, and the whole spell would collapse in seconds.

If Konoka screwed up, her friends would be the first to pay the price as _oni _stormed the world.

_Quit whining and focus! _ Her little mental Evangeline snapped at her.

Once more, Konoka began the movements of her healing spell, drawing trails of runes in the dark air, carefully braiding it into the strands of the Ward.

Magic streamed from her and into the Wards, making Konoka shudder as she felt cold all over. Worse than bleeding, than freezing, heat poured through her skin and into her spell.

_"Before you learn how to control yourself, don't reach _deep _into your magic," _she remembered Evangeline lecturing. "_Your magic stores are so deep, you could lose control of what you unleash, and your magic will consume all of you."_

Fear hammered in her gut but Konoka couldn't hesitate. The fear wasn't all her own, Konoka realized. Distractedly, she tried to soothe that other presence, hoping that her false confidence would be assuring. Still, it seemed silly for anyone to be distracting her now, and she would have thought that—

_OJOU-SAMA! _ Setsuna's terrified voice slammed into Konoka's mind, flooding her with all of her guardian's worry and panic. Swiftly, Konoka redirected her assurances briefly, then promptly shut Setsuna out. Severing the connection to her Ministra hurt like a stab in the chest, but had no choice. She hoped that Setsuna got enough of it to be reassured somewhat.

She was nearing the end of her spell.

Only one chance to do this right.

**O**

_ Slowly, the dull glaze ebbed from Setsuna's eyes, brightening the red hue into a poppy shade instead of old blood red. Setsuna's lips moved, a breath of a sound escaping._

_ "…Kono-chan."_

_ Konoka cut her bonds. She gently helped her flinching guardian lower her arms and began massaging the pins and needles out. "I'm so sorry, Set-chan. It's been too long for me to heal your wounds." Her voice broke slightly. "You have a lot of stab wounds in your chest—are you hurt anywhere else?"_

_ Only because she had asked then, while Setsuna was exhausted, confused and suffering, did Konoka actually get a real answer instead of an anxious lie. Yet Konoka could never forget Setsuna's answer—the words rung inside her head like a shameful bell always tolling. _

**O**

_Heal,_ Konoka commanded, gently letting loose her last spell-rune. It connected with her first glyph, and the whole spell blazed, locked in an eternal loop.

Now for the power.

Raw power that she _didn't have._ Not yet.

Burn out her life?

If the broken stone was Setsuna, Konoka would give anything, even the last shred of magic and life from her own body, for her.

So.

All she had to do was pretend hard.

Konoka dug deeper, and poured out more magic, embedding it sharply into her healing spell. There were some things she could never fix. But this Ward stone would not be one of them.

As her body grew colder and her vision darkened, finally Konoka heard a groaning crackle in her head and saw smooth, unmarred stone before her, the broken runes whole again and shining.

**O**

_ "_Inside_ me," Setsuna whispered, the hopelessness in her eyes revealing her state of mind._

_ And that was the _one thing_ Konoka could not heal for the person she loved most in the world._

**O**

All Konoka could hear was hesitant cheering that slowly turned rambunctious. People darted around excitedly in the haze of her returning vision. "She did it!" "The lady fixed the stones, look!" "Konoka, you're _amazing!_ Whoo!"

Konoka winced and put a shaking hand to her forehead. Looking up, the Ward stone was solid, the whole ring of monoliths glowing as if newly enspelled. But deeper down, Konoka could still feel the broken strands of the actual Wardspell cast by her ancestors, clinking like a bag of broken glass inside her heart. Fixed a symptom, but not the disease.

Still…her healing spell _worked._

She did it.

_She did it._

But would it mean anything in the long run?

When Tsukuyomi returns, would Konoka be able to stop her this time?

"You could have hurt yourself." Setsuna came up behind her, and Konoka knew that she was worried from the trace of anger in her impassive voice. Konoka shivered, her body drained of the energy normally needed to maintain functions like temperature. A calloused hand touched her cold cheek, then came back with a warm suit jacket and wrapped it snugly around her shoulders.

Konoka captured Setsuna's hand, careful to grip only her hand and not her wrist. "If I need to be, I _will _be strong enough," she said fiercely, tightening her grip until Setsuna looked at her, startled.

_She kept remembering her Set-chan covered in blood._

_ Bloody and beaten._

"Never again," Konoka swore, before she slumped over, unconscious.

* * *

_**Author's Note: Thanks everyone, for the reviews! Some people have mentioned some interesting speculations… =D**_

_**At this point, I'm pretty much writing AU from around Negima chapter 284. I was trying to keep the references to the Magical World Arc vague in this story to fit in with canon, but with a bunch of new revelations happening in the manga it's a difficult task!**_

_**Yue got a larger part to play than Nodoka did in the last chapter, and while I didn't plan for her to have such a large part some fascinating things came out during Yue's conversations, so I expanded her role a bit.**_

_**So now the physical flaw in the Wards is gone, but the Koyane Ward itself is still broken and teetering on destruction. And of course, things always go from bad to worse in my stories… =)**_


	8. Chapter VII

Chapter VII

November 3, 2007

_Setsuna tasted blood._

Don't _scream._

_ Another starburst of pain in her chest made her writhe, thrashing against the ropes around her wrists. No matter how hard Setsuna jerked, the bonds held._

_ *_So, will you say it?_*_

_ "Fuck off!"_

_ A laugh. *_Why should I, when I've got you here?_*_

_ That sent chills down Setsuna's skin before a wide swathe of agony tore down Setsuna's ribs, the scrape of metal on bone sending a nauseating tremor through her body. She ground her teeth together, her lips already bleeding, hearing a scream roll in her throat._

_ *_Oh, I think I almost have you now, senpai…*_ Mad giggling came by her ear, and Setsuna gave a half-whimper when she felt soft fingers run up the outside of her thigh, not quite sensually but threatening to be. She thrashed harder._

_ She had to bear this…she couldn't let Tsukuyomi beat her. _

_ More pain hammered in her head, but Setsuna couldn't feel where it came from. She wasn't seeing her own bleeding, stripped body…she was spiralling deeper into her head, pulling to mind the most beautiful things she could think of._

_ Setsuna saw her most important person._

_ All pain faded from her awareness when a soft pair of lips touched hers._

"Pactio!"_ She dimly heard/remembered Chamo cry out, but none of that mattered. _

_ Konoka kissed her, growing more and more passionate, as Setsuna felt a thrill of excitement twirl around her insides as she opened her mouth, letting Konoka's tongue in—_

_ Dimly, Setsuna heard Tsukuyomi howl in fury, somewhere far, far away._

_ Setsuna laughed inside her head, still relishing the memory of Konoka's hot mouth as both of them poured all their pent-up ardour into the kiss._

**O**

_May 24, 2010_

_Kyoto, Konoe-Wallward House_

**Mana**

_BLAM!_

Setsuna startled a little, Yuunagi wavering in one of her strike repetitions. Mana ejected her empty shell casing, waiting to see what Setsuna would do once she realized that she had accidentally wandered into Mana's shooting range. They were the only two present at the small practice yard, the hour too early for even the more diligent Wallward guards to be up and about.

Mana loaded another shell, taking aim again, seeing Setsuna in her rifle's sights.

The half-demon simply looked back, her loose black hair wisping slightly around her chin.

_BLAM!_

Setsuna didn't even blink as the bullet whizzed by her cheek and slammed next to the bullethole already in the target.

_Chik-cha-chik—BLAM!_

_TNK!_ Metal shrieked as Setsuna deflected the rifle round with her sword, leaping to the side and snapping her blade up into an attack position.

"What was that?" She asked dourly, raising an eyebrow.

Mana shrugged, chambering another round. "You're in my way."

"Yeah right—"

_BLAM!_

_TNK! _ Setsuna stumbled, having caught that shot near Yuunagi's tip instead of closer to the handle, the force throwing her balance off. _Chik-cha-chik._ Mana already had her gun up to her shoulder again, pointed at Setsuna's chest. A head-shot wouldn't be worth the risk, as even in the state she was in Setsuna would be too fast for an accurate head-shot anyways.

"Mana!"

"_Sloppy._"

Setsuna froze, her confused annoyance transforming into anger. _Finally_, Mana thought, keeping her pleasure concealed under her mercenary mask. Her partner had been far too detached in the last weeks.

"What are you talking about?" Silver flashed as Setsuna brought Yuunagi up into a defensive stance. Red eyes narrowed, eyeing Mana with the attentiveness of a hawk about to strike. "I'm faster than I've ever been before."

"You're slacking." Mana fired again in succession, taking the time when Setsuna flipped and dodged around the bullets to load a new magazine.

Setsuna twisted past the last shot, her body flowing like a wild animal, each movement full of power and beauty. She rolled back into her defensive stance, although Mana could see her leading foot sliding sideways to slowly shift into a fighting pose. Protesting, Setsuna said, "I could never have done that before!"

"I can See it, you know," Mana retorted. "That demon side that you're so worried about, yet you're welcoming it in every day. At the level you're at now, you should be far better than this. But you're not. You're terrible."

Her instincts reacted before her mind did, which was a good thing. High tensile metal whined as Setsuna dodged and deflected her bullets, having gained five metres of ground in a lightning-quick dash but was forcibly halted by Mana's cover fire.

The gunslinger slammed another magazine in place. "You should be in my face by now. Instead, you're barely holding your own."

"What are you getting at?" Setsuna snarled, her arms shaking although her stance stayed firm. A rough tone in her voice betrayed her frustration, although her expression still looked ice calm.

"If you took better care of yourself, then maybe you wouldn't be so sloppy," Mana said. Oh, she would have to start being careful…this wasn't going to work if Setsuna managed to prove her wrong. She still had two loaded handguns on her belt, if Setsuna got close enough to force Mana to drop her rifle. "When was the last time you ate a full meal, Setsuna? Or when you slept for more than an hour at a time?" She pushed on, not giving Setsuna a change to answer. "You're coasting along on your demonic strength, letting it fill in for you where you've gotten _weak!_"

Setsuna lunged forward again, her sword flashing as she knocked aside bullets in her charge. Still, Mana's second-last rifle round contacted, tearing along the outside of Setsuna's thigh and sending the half-demon slamming into the ground, braced on her knees and out-flung hands, panting.

"I'm getting the job done!" hissed Setsuna, her face dark and her shoulders shaking as if she was fighting the urge to call forth her demon blood and take to the skies.

"And for your precious Ojou-sama, are you really settling for just _getting the job done?_" Mana asked scornfully. An injury like that wouldn't permanently damage Setsuna, not with her heightened demonic healing even if she decided not to let Konoka heal her. It shouldn't even affect her fighting. Setsuna must have no force of mind left to hold back distractions like pain.

Had Setsuna become so bad so quickly, and Mana hadn't even noticed?

She pumped out her last cartridge and replaced the magazine again, not wanting to start a new round of attacks without a full load. "So, Setsuna? Are you just going to let yourself coast through life, wasting your demonic strength on simply keeping that body of yours running?"

Demon eyes glared back at her. Setsuna breathed heavily, one hand white-knuckled around Yuunagi's hilt, and the other clamped over the slowly oozing gouge on her wounded leg.

"…I won't use the demon to be my strength," Setsuna said.

"Oh?" Mana challenged. "Then use your Pactio. That's why you did it, right? To become stronger?"

Setsuna froze.

"Do it," whispered Mana. She knew that Setsuna wouldn't, but she had to try. Normally she wouldn't have cared so much but by now, Setsuna was her friend. And sometimes friends had to say the things that weren't welcome, but that needed to be heard.

Panting, Setsuna rose, wiping her bloody hand on her white uwagi shirt. In an odd way, it was nice for Mana to see that Setsuna was still holding firmly onto her traditional work-out clothing, only changing into a Western style suit and shirt when they were on duty. It wouldn't do for the Wallwards to forget that they are now members of the old Konoe clan, and that while the knowledge may go both ways, the prestige clearly did not. Not that Mana cared to a great extent, but it still rubbed her the wrong way when she saw how the Wallwards always tried to strengthen their hold on Konoka.

They were all old friends, after all.

Setsuna turned, ignoring Mana and the blood dripping down her leg and dotting the packed dirt. The swordswoman walked back towards the house, her head down, Yuunagi's tip low to the ground.

Mana didn't shoot. She wasn't sure if Setsuna would actually try to stop her bullets this time.

**O**

Somewhen in November, 2007 

*You can keep pretending, but in the end you know the truth.*

_Setsuna shivered, hearing her own voice speaking to her. Keep your eyes closed…she knew that if she opened them, she would see red eyes gleaming back at her. Red eyes and white hair…_

*I am in your blood—you can keep denying me, but when your blood runs hot in bloodlust…* _Silken feathers brushed over Setsuna's back, making her shiver and arch, feeling the tingle in her back as her own wings strained to burst out of flushed skin. _*You need me, to protect our Ojou-sama.*

_"Konoka?" Setsuna muttered, sweating._

*I am your freedom.*

_"No you're not…_Konoka's _my freedom!" _

It's a trick—that isn't you. It's Tsukuyomi!

*I'm the strength you keep denying.*

_Ignore her! Setsuna let herself fall into her spiralling memories, drawing her strongest defence around herself. Chestnut hair shimmered in the light as Konoka spun around, smiling at her with a shy, warm glow in her eyes._

_ "Hehe…how do I look, Set-chan?"_

_ Beautiful._

_ Cinema village, and Konoka looked like a princess, bright and gorgeous. Setsuna's arm was constantly warm with the sensation of Konoka's hands on her bicep as her Ojou-sama pressed up close to her, looking at her with happy adoration._

*Do you think that once she knows about me, that she'll give you that same smile? You know better than that!*

_Setsuna had scooped Konoka out of Chigusa's arms, slicing through the two summons as she flew past._

_ "Set-chan…it's you! I knew it…I knew you'd come rescue me." Konoka flushed, hiding her face, mumbling something about liking something and not looking…then she took her hands away and stared at Setsuna. "Set-chan…your back…?"_

_ "Huh? Oh, uh…you mean these?" Setsuna stammered, feeling the shame rushing in again with each beat of her white wings._

_ "What…what are…"_

_ "…Are you disgusted?" Setsuna asked in a small voice, her hands trembling although she still held Konoka securely against her chest._

_ Konoka gave a vehement shake of her head, blurting out a bit _too _hastily, "They're beautiful!" She quickly averted her gaze, "Um…You look like an _angel!_"_

_ Inside Setsuna's head, her voice of truth whispered. _

She's lying.

**O**

**Asuna**

Asuna hated all the fussy paperwork she had to do.

Oh, Konoka was nice and took care of most of her work herself, but her friend just didn't have the time anymore to shuffle around her appointments and co-ordinate with other people inbetween her research and her duties as the Konoe heir and as the lady of the Konoe-Wallward house. So Asuna was stuck with the boring-er tasks of arranging with Ethan Moor who was going to tell the limo driver the departure times and when their respective friends were available to go out as a couple for social events. Stuff that Konoka and Kyo couldn't be bothered with.

"Wednesday is the only lunch hour Kyo has available," Ethan said firmly, scrolling through Kyo's calendar. "You'll have to rearrange to open up that time for Lady Konoka, because nothing else will work."

"I told you already," Asuna growled, fighting to keep her politeness along with her patience, "that Wednesday doesn't work for the Mayor. He's coming all the way up here to thank Konoka and Kyo for their achievement with the Koyane Wards, but he can only have lunch or dinner on Tuesday."

"Hmm." Ethan clicked open a few more events, scratching the hint of stubble on his chin. When Asuna had been fourteen, she might have found him attractive, as even though he was Kyo's age Ethan gave off the semblance of being older in a rugged kind of way. Of course, that impression got ruined whenever he opened his mouth… "Tuesday dinner might work; I can reschedule the overseas conference call and change his work supervision time to Wednesday." He started dialing. "I'll give him a call."

Asuna rolled her eyes, scribbling in Konoka's new appointment in her pocket calendar. If it wasn't for all the hassle involved, Asuna would have volunteered to take the steward job in the household, just to spare Konoka the many calls Ethan would make before deciding on anything.

"What?" Ethan demanded, unfortunately catching sight of her exasperated expression, his phone against his ear. "Something you want to say?"

"Yeah," Asuna gritted her teeth, feeling her temper flare. Damn, she missed Ayaka and how she could always blow off some steam in a friendly fight with their old class president. "Are the calls really necessary? Just make the decision yourself—why else would Kyo-san trust you with his schedule?"

"Changes in Kyo's schedule affect more people than just himself, you know," he snapped. "I can't just shift things without his permission."

"Didn't he already give you permission when he gave you the responsibility?" Asuna sighed. _Remember, Konoka told you to be nice. _"Look, you might be disruptive to Kyo-san and Konoka when you keep confirming all your decisions with them—they both trust you to make the right choices. So can we cut out the middle-step all the time?"

"Even though he's my friend, I'm still his employee," Ethan said. "Final decisions are for the bosses to make, not me."

Asuna frowned, tapping her pen against the table. "Is that really how he thinks of you?"

The young man blinked, startled at the question. To Asuna's surprise, he actually gave it some thought instead of just spouting off an asshole-ish answer. "You know, I really don't know," admitted Ethan finally, ending his call before it connected and setting the phone down. "It's his right. He's from a noble family, and I'm just a paid hand who happens to be his friend."

"So he _does _just think of you and Hazan as just servants?" Asuna asked, not even trying to hide how appalled she was.

"He's not like that!" Ethan defended Kyo loyally. "He treats us like friends when we're in private. We just can't act that way in public, you know. It's not proper, like how you act with Lady Konoka."

"I'll act however I want!" Asuna retorted. "Konoka's my friend, not my boss. I do things for her because I want to, not because I'm getting paid."

"But you _are _getting paid," Ethan pointed out acerbically.

Asuna grimaced—damn, that _was _true. "But we don't believe in all that courtesy stuff between us. Konoka would hate it if I treated her like some Ojou-sama. And besides, she wouldn't treat anyone else in this household like a servant either."

"She should. It'll only make her look lowly if she's so familiar like that."

"Some people don't care about status, as amazing as it might seem to you."

"She can afford to," Ethan said. He sighed and drank from his coffee mug, dropping it back on the table with a thud. "Kyo doesn't have that luxury, okay? He doesn't get to coast along through life like the lady does. So it's not his fault!"

"I didn't think of that," Asuna admitted. Konoka had always made light of her family situation, it hadn't been until the Kyoto trip that Asuna and the rest of their classmates had realized just how rich and powerful Konoka's family was. But a _nouveau-riche _family like the Wallwards would likely be more insecure with their status. "Konoka…well, she doesn't care. She never did."

"Well, Kyo does," Ethan scowled, but for once he didn't seem to be directing that glower at Asuna. "The Wallwards worked hard for their status. It costs a lot to maintain it. Even if it's not easy, he still has to do it."

"Seems dumb to me," Asuna said. "The only people I've ever met who flaunted their status were creeps who were trying really hard to hide just how lame they were. The people who actually had the right stuff are always humble about it."

Ethan grunted, getting to his feet and looking pretty crossed. "Look, you don't know Kyo, so don't you dare judge him. He's the best friend I've ever had."

"Hey," Asuna sighed, getting up too. "I'm sorry if I implied that Kyo was a creep, okay? I didn't mean it like that." She stuck out a hand. "I'm just looking out for Konoka."

Hesitating, Ethan glanced at Asuna's outstretched hand. He rubbed his jaw awkwardly then shook her hand roughly, accepting the apology. "Alright. I get it. I'm looking out for my best mate too."

"Can I ask you something?" Asuna ventured, picking up her calendar. It probably wasn't the best time to ask, but she had been curious for some time. "Don't take it the wrong way."

"What?"

"Sometimes, do you…well, kind of wish that you could just be Kyo's friend, and that's it, none of this employee stuff?"

His dark brows furrowed in a defensive frown. "And what's your point?"

_So that's a yes, in guy-speech._ "Well…why do you still do it then? Still be his steward, putting yourself in a position that you don't really want to be in?"

Ethan pocketed his Blackberry and thought for a bit. Then he shrugged. "I'm his friend, so if he needs the favour, I'll do it for him."

Figures that Asuna wasn't really going to get a good second opinion on the matter. Guys and girls felt differently about this stuff—and anyways, the case Asuna was thinking of had other complications worked in as well. "Cool. Thanks."

"I wanna ask you something too."

"Yeah?"

"That girl." Ethan glowered before jerking his head. "Setsuna."

"What about her?" Asuna prompted, her turn to be defensive.

Now looking distinctly uncomfortable, Ethan shrugged again, shifting on the spot. "Is she…you know."

"What?" Asuna asked again, already rapidly trying to think of the best way to answer a bunch of potential loaded questions…

"Is she like…" Ethan coughed. "Gay?"

Asuna nearly choked in surprise. Not exactly the question she had been expecting, and while thankfully it wasn't as touchy of a subject to answer it still wasn't exactly something Asuna wanted to address. Experience taught her to dodge those kinds of questions. "Why do you care?" She asked evasively.

Now it was Ethan's turn to dodge the question. Asuna could tell in the way his eyes flicked away and in the tensing of his shoulders. Idly, he answered with a wry grin, "Just curious, since, well, you might have noticed that Hazan sorta likes her and all. Just looking out for a friend."

_Yeah right, I'm _soooo _sure that was what you were getting after._ "Hazan-san seems like a big girl…I'm sure she can handle things herself, if she wanted to try things out." Asuna thanked Mana for her dry commentary on Setsuna's behaviour towards Konoka in high school (of course, Mana had grossly overestimated Setsuna's capabilities, but no use dwelling on that now). It gave her a perfect comeback.

"Yeah, I bet she can," Ethan agreed, smoothing out his shirt. "Anyways, I'll confirm the schedule with you later tonight. I'll book the restaurant too, why don't you deal with the guard stuff?"

"Sure," Asuna said, nodding and waving him off.

Was Setsuna gay?

Sheesh…Asuna had never seen anyone _gayer _for another person than Setsuna and Konoka together.

No, she had to be fair. That's where it hurt so much to have to be a witness to the current tangled mess.

Asuna had never seen two people who loved each other more than Setsuna and Konoka together…even when they _couldn't _be together.

**O**

_ Finally, Setsuna thought, some privacy. She liked being with the rest of their classmates—their friends—but sometimes she just wanted to spend some quiet time with Kono-chan alone._

_ Since Konoka hadn't let go of her ever since they had ducked off for a walk in the woods together, it seemed that Konoka had the same sentiment._

_ "It's such a nice day for a picnic, don't you think, Set-chan?" Konoka sighed happily, running her hand down Setsuna's arm until they were holding hands._

_ Setsuna had claimed the weight of their picnic basket before they had even stepped outside the building, even though it kept her sword arm hindered (since there was _no way _she was going to forgo holding Kono-chan's hand!). "I'm sorry Kono-chan, I didn't even think to help you prepare the food…"_

_ "Aw, that's alright. I like cooking for you." Konoka beamed and snuggled up to Setsuna's side, trusting her guardian to keep them from tripping each other. They found a little clearing and spread out their groundsheet, laying out their lunch in the sweet meadow grass._

_ Konoka started it first, by insisting on feeding Setsuna by hand. And it must have been something in the hazy summer day, because Setsuna found herself getting more and more flustered whenever Konoka's fingers brushed her lips, and _not _flustered in a bad way._

_ "Your cooking is amazing, Kono-chan," whispered Setsuna as she caught onto Konoka's hand, holding it on her cheek._

_ Her beautiful friend smiled, her brown eyes warm. She stroked Setsuna's cheek, the touch just as tender as it was arousing. "It's easy to cook for someone I love."_

_ Konoka said that she loved Setsuna all the time, but this time Setsuna felt something stirring inside her stomach. _Come on, _say _it…_ "Kono-chan…I…" She licked her lips, sweating. "I love…eating the food you make!"_

Thunk! _Setsuna sighed, leaving her hand from where she had face-palmed herself. Why couldn't she just _say _it?_

_ "Set-chan!" Konoka pulled Setsuna's hand away and kissed the red mark on the black-haired girl's forehead, somehow using that motion to slide onto Setsuna's lap. All of Setsuna's higher thinking immediately flew the coop as she gasped, her senses filled with just Konoka. The scent of her hair, her warmth, the sight of her hands coming up to wrap around Setsuna's neck, the feel of her breasts against Setsuna's own…_

_ She kissed her hard, feeling Konoka's startlement that quickly changed to eager passion as the brunette reciprocated, pulling them closely together._

_ When Konoka finally pulled away slightly, gasping for breath, Setsuna panted as well, finding her hands up the back of Konoka's shirt. While a tiny, tiny part of her was spazzing over taking such liberty with her Ojou-sama's body and for doing such inappropriate things, most of her was just revelling in the glory of feeling Konoka's soft skin under her fingers. Somehow she had ended up on her back, with Konoka lying on top of her, her lady's long hair forming a silky veil around them._

_ "Set-chan," whispered Konoka, trembling with desire. She laid her shaking palm on Setsuna's stomach to keep herself from doing anything else with that hand. "Are…are you sure you want to keep going?"_

_ Setsuna knew how much Konoka wanted her. All these years, Setsuna wanted Konoka as well, but it was her own feelings about herself that had always kept her thinking that her desires were shameful. Ever since they came to the Magical World, Konoka's advances had become more and more daring, and far less subtle. But a sensitive girl like Konoka would be very aware of Setsuna's discomfort with the idea of intimacy between them. It made Setsuna love her more, just for that kind consideration._

_ "Set-chan?"_

_ Without a word, Setsuna kissed Konoka lightly, clasping one of Konoka's hands. She drew Konoka's hand up and placed it on her breast—_

_ Aversion suddenly flooded through Setsuna's whole body, making her jerk in revulsion and surprise._

_ And then Setsuna _remembered _where she_ really was—

_"GET OFF!" She shrieked, her full attention snapping back into the cave. Tsukuyomi's weight pinned her down on the bed, the small swordswoman's hand resting on Setsuna's chest. That sensation sent Setsuna into a renewed frenzy, half-sobbing as she struggled, her horror washing away the last vestiges of the false dream planted inside her mind._

_ Tsukuyomi pouted. "Awwww, Senpai…a few more seconds, and you would have taken me all the way with you." She removed her hand and sat back on Setsuna's bare stomach, still straddling the half-demon girl. "It would have been really good too."_

_ "No!" Setsuna jerked, struggling, panicking and thrashing to dislodge Tsukuyomi from her._

_ With a sigh, Tsukuyomi hopped off the bed, looking incredibly disappointed. "I wasn't going to do anything against your consent, you know. It wouldn't be as fun. Oh, my hopes had been so high, when you wanted me to touch you…"_

_ "No, I didn't!" Setsuna screamed, feeling the burn of shameful tears wetting her eyelashes. "I didn't, I didn't, I _DIDN'T!"

_ "Oh?" Tsukuyomi raised a delicate eyebrow, smiling knowingly, letting her eyes trail down Setsuna's body. "But you were still pretty turned on, weren't you?" _

Somewhen in November, 2007 

**O**

**Setsuna**

"Crap," Setsuna muttered. She twisted, trying to look at the back of her thigh. Her leg wound protested, making her wince and crane her neck instead.

Stupid Mana, for shooting her. And for accusing her of all those things.

And for being _right _about it all.

The bullet wound was just a graze, but since Mana had been using rifle rounds the gouge was wide enough for copious bleeding to result from Setsuna's negligent walking. She sighed, pulling away the cloth of her pants from the wound's edges, sending another jolt of pain through her thigh.

Growling, Setsuna braced herself against the sink, lowering her head. She needed to clean her wound, or at least wash the blood off herself and get into some new clothes. A shower seemed pretty unavoidable, but she hated that it was still bright out. Setsuna never felt comfortable with closing her eyes instead of using the darkness to keep her from seeing herself.

Ever since that time, she was never sure what she'd be seeing when she opened them again.

By feel Setsuna found the window blinds and yanked them as tightly shut as she could. Even so, she could still see tinges of red through her eyelids instead of pure black, but it was the best she could do.

At this point she had to stop, breathing heavily to calm her heartbeat down.

Ever since yesterday, everything hurt worse than before, especially inside her head. Too many memories triggered by just one simple reminder.

_Deal with it!_ Setsuna exhaled and pulled the tie on her pants, trembling when she felt them slide down and bunch up by her ankles. Having a few shots to mellow her anxiety would be preferable, if Setsuna went for that kind of stuff.

Shizuna-sensei had actually suggested benzodiazepines early in their therapy sessions, but Setsuna had refused vehemently. A warrior had to fight what made her afraid, not use drugs as a crutch…and in a way—a sick way, Setsuna knew—she _wanted _to feel the agony. It reminded her that this was indeed reality and not…not a dream.

The dreams Tsukuyomi had woven using the _Psychi Kinigi_ spell had made everything feel easy and well. Despair had only returned when she had woken from the lies.

Or she was just being stubbornly masochist again, as Asuna liked to accuse of her.

Setsuna's fingers fumbled on her shirt, but finally she managed to yank it off, feeling a rush of unease when the cool bathroom air touched her bare skin.

_Oh god…_Brutally, Setsuna tore off her underwear, ignoring the burn of her injury and leap into the shower, nearly breaking the half-open shower door in her haste. She jerked the tap, flinching as ice-cold water spurted out of the showerhead onto her shoulders before slowly warming up. Her leg stung as the water washed out the wound, and Setsuna just let it happen, focusing on bracing herself against the tiled wall and not losing it entirely.

She couldn't stand the sensation of touching her own body, but at the same time she couldn't bear being dirty. Both took her mind to dark places…what irony. It figures that life would want to hand Setsuna Sakurazaki one big joke after another.

_Quit whining and pull yourself together! _ The little sarcastic and scolding voice in her head changed depending on what Setsuna was admonishing herself about; Evangeline's voice tended for her more stupid actions, Asuna's for her stoic-warrior-nonsense…but the one Setsuna feared most was reserved for whenever she was just plain scared.

And fear was an emotion Setsuna had been swimming in far too much lately.

She fumbled for the soap bar, lathering it between her hands until she had two handfuls of soapy foam. _Breathe, breathe, it's not a big deal—_she touched her own shoulder, still feeling okay at that contact. _You're fine. _As her hands soaped downwards, Setsuna felt herself start to tremble again, despite her efforts to control her breathing and jitters.

_It's fine._

Water ran in warm rivelets down her back and arms, the droplets bleeding together and falling in fat drops onto the tile.

_Cutting through the blinding pain in her chest was the creeping sensation of blood trailing down her stomach—_

Setsuna gasped, inhaling a shuddering pant into her lungs and breaking her meditative breathing. _It's fine, there's nothing to be scared of—it's fine—it's—_

Shame and disgust burst from her gut, sending a wave of nausea to drive Setsuna to her knees. She banged her shoulder against the faucet but that didn't faze her, and Setsuna clutched at her head, struggling to breathe through the tension in her chest.

*"_Oh, my hopes had been so high, when you wanted me to touch you—"*_

The shower door cracked as Setsuna practically tripped out of the stall, rolling to her feet right before she crashed into the opposite wall. Frantically, Setsuna seized her clothes and yanked them on, barely refraining from tearing the fabric when the sleeves or cuffs didn't open for her limbs properly. It was hard and immensely uncomfortable to pull clothes on top of wet skin, but Setsuna kept at it, not even bothering with buttons or zippers before bursting out of the bathroom once she had covered herself enough to be decent.

There it was, leaning against her bunk. Setsuna seized Yuunagi, holding it tightly in her hands, her right fist trembling on the nodachi's hilt.

She wasn't back there. She was in Konoka's house. She had Yuunagi, and with her trusted weapon there was no way anyone could get the jump on her to do _anything _against her will. She was safe.

_Really? Tsukuyomi took you even with Yuunagi in your hands._

…

Setsuna _really _had to stop being so honest with herself.

**O**

_*_Let me in, tell me what it is you fear me to know…I will find out, I'm stronger than you, a mere half-demon—*

_She held on, calling up memories of Konoka to piss Tsukuyomi off, and to keep herself sane and shivering behind the shield it provided against the cruel voice. She was playing with Konoka, tossing a ball between them—_

_ Konoka was drowning._

_ Setsuna jumped into the river, and she grabbed for Konoka but they only splashed helplessly._

_ "Set-chan!" Konoka cried, and grabbed Setsuna around the shoulders, pushing her down into the water. Panic coursed through her—but Konoka was okay, she could breathe, but Setsuna was drowning, it was dark and violent—_

_ She couldn't breathe!_

_ Konoka knew that she was more important than Setsuna…She was just using her right to use Setsuna's life as she pleased…_

_ "LIAR!" Setsuna screamed, jerking and feeling the ropes bite into her wrists. She couldn't bear having Konoka become the villain in her mind, her memories, her…reality. That wasn't what had happened! _

_Setsuna knew it wasn't…_

_She believed that it wasn't. _

_It wasn't Konoka's personality to think something like that, even if it really _was _Setsuna's duty to give her life for her Ojou-sama. Setsuna fell back to her senses, opening her eyes frantically to see the dank cave ceiling above her, and feel the burn of the ropes on her wrists. She couldn't bear having Tsukuyomi by her while she was so exposed, but at least she knew _this_ was real. _

_ *_Real?* _Tsukuyomi smiled sweetly, gently running her fingers in a caress down Setsuna's cheek. _*Is it?*

_Because…it had to be. It had to be._

*How would you _know_?*

Somewhen in the past 

**O**

**Konoka**

This was the second day in a row where Konoka woke up feeling sluggish and feverish.

_I just made up a high-level spell yesterday, and cast it successfully…can't I sleep in?_ Konoka moaned and rolled over, burying her face in her pillow. Any moment, Asuna was going to barge in and tell her to get out of bed. And she knew that she had to; even assuming that Kyo had contacted their families about the success of her spell yesterday, she should really give Grandpa and Daddy a call herself. And she had promised Ethan-san that she'd go over the house budget with him, and she also had to start researching on the Ward spell origin…

But she was so tired, and her stomach was cramping, in that ambiguous way where she wasn't sure if it was from hunger or sickness. And Konoka really didn't want to be bothered to find out by getting out of bed.

She shifted, stretching a little to try and work the knots from her back. Her hand brushed Kyo's pillow and Konoka pulled back quickly. Silly, she knew…she had done far more than touch his side of the bed, but still…it felt like there was still "his space" and "her space", and Konoka knew that she wasn't the only one to feel that awkward air in their room.

Finally, Konoka sat up, gingerly getting out of bed. Her stomach cramps eased a bit with the change in posture, and she yawned, wandering into the bathroom. A note was taped to the mirror, scripted as neatly as if it were a formal letter.

**Konoka,**

**I'll be spending the day at the Koyane Wards. After you completed your spell yesterday all the magical readings of the Wards changed, and so we are trying to establish new baseline readings.**

**If you could find out what the elements of the original spell were, and where the Mana Supply Anchors are, it would really help. Thanks.**

**Kyo**

Konoka sighed, rolling her eyes and grousing, "Yeah, it might help if I had access to—"

She tore off the note, and found another one taped beneath it.

**Log-in: Konoka**

**Temporary password: healermage**

**(But if you could please use my log-in for today, I'd appreciate it…I still have to get Grandmother's approval for your account. I think she'll say yes, but it might be easier if you just use mine for now.)**

**Admin-Log-in: Kyo Wallward**

**Password: kkkw432010grimoire**

"Oh Kyo," Konoka whispered, touched. He never quite said so, but she could tell that his family didn't want her getting her own log-in to the Wallward database, despite the fact that she's supposed to be part of their family now. While she doubted that they'd actually refuse Kyo's request, she could guess that they'd be furious that he had brought it up himself instead of waiting for Konoka to ask.

And she couldn't really blame the Wallwards. Eishun had been sparse in what information and privileges he had allowed Kyo to have too, not to mention the limited access Konoemon had finally given Kyo to Mahora only after they'd married, and not a moment before.

If things had been…different, Konoka supposed that maybe her family would have been more open with welcoming Konoka's partner into the Konoe family. But with things as they are, even just a few months after their families had officially been joined it seemed like the in-laws were still working out what they hoped to gain from the union.

Leaving Kyo and Konoka to struggle along and try to make something meaningful of their marriage, when everyone around them only saw it for its advantages.

Even from her oldest friend, which hurt. It hurt a lot.

She had hoped that after a couple of months, that everyone would fall into some kind of "routine"…something that would make Konoka wake up and go through the day without _thinking._ Instead of _trying _to be Lady Konoka, Mrs. Konoe-Wallward, Kyo's Wife, she really would _feel_ like her.

So that when Konoka walked past Setsuna in the hallway she really would just glance at her and think "Setsuna-san", instead of instantly being hit with the reminder that this _was_ her Set-chan.

And that she isn't Konoka's anymore.

But how could Konoka forget? She kept dreaming about what-could-have-beens.

The worst part was that some of her dreams weren't imaginary at all. And so Konoka would relieve moments when she had been in love…and then wake up in reality.

**O**

_She'll kill Tsukuyomi one day._

_ The pain now was nothing—Setsuna could bear it. Indeed, she was vaguely thrilled at the scent of blood, even if it was her own. It made Setsuna shiver with bated breath, just waiting for when she could tear into warm flesh and laugh in her revenge._

_ Just wait it out._

_ Wait patiently._

_ And your enemy will give you a chance…show you their weakness, an opening to be exploited._

_ Setsuna was waiting._

_ Pain was easy to bear. The _Psychi Kinigi_ less so, but the confusion and despair caused by the mind games didn't matter that much to Setsuna in this state. That was for her weaker side to deal with, while her duty was to get them through this ordeal intact enough to exact their revenge._

_ Footsteps sounded out of her field of vision, warning Setsuna that her enemy was here. Tsukuyomi walked up beside the bed, running a knife along the bed rail. She put a knee on the bed and reached for Setsuna's hands, still bound above her head._

_ "Finally, Setsuna…I found—"_

_ Setsuna felt the binds give._

_ Tsukuyomi shrieked as Setsuna erupted off the bed, tearing her raw wrists from the cut cords to seize her captor around the throat. Setsuna dug her fingers in—she meant to throw both of them to the floor to use gravity to her advantage, but it wasn't necessary since Tsukuyomi didn't have any strength in her struggles, to Setsuna's mild surprise. Oddly, the spectacled swordswoman had dropped her knife instead of slashing Setsuna's throat; she must have caught Tsukuyomi well off guard._

_ Oh yes, it felt _so _good to feel the shock of Tsukuyomi's struggling through her hands, to feel the panic and life slipping out of her enemy's gasping lips breath by breath…_

_ Setsuna laughed._

_ "So, find who you expected?" She taunted, watching the last light fade from Tsukuyomi's dark eyes—_

_ …Her enemy had _light _eyes._

_ Setsuna blinked, and blond hair turned brunette in that instant._

_ And Tsukuyomi's face vanished, replaced by someone Setsuna would recognize in any shape or disguise—even bloated in death._

_ "…Kono-chan?" whispered Setsuna. _

_ No._

_ No. No no no no no…_

_ Setsuna screamed, a guttural sound tearing from her throat as she threw herself backwards, writhing on the bed and sobbing. She did this…this is what the stronger part of her was. A murderer. A destroyer of everything that she loved._

_ Konoka's body lay heavily on Setsuna's chest, still warm enough to give off the appearance as if she was still alive. Setsuna needed to find that knife that her Kono-chan had dropped. She needed it…but she couldn't bear to touch Konoka to move her._

_ Metal chair legs screeched on stone, the sound stopping beside her. Through her tears Setsuna looked sideways, still shaking._

_ Tsukuyomi rested her chin on her folded hands, gazing at Setsuna with patient calmness. She had dispensed with her bonnet, although she still had the jaunty purple bows in her hair. She still didn't look any less deadly and deceivingly delicate. _

"_Are you ready to say it now?"_

_Setsuna stirred, feeling the raw skin of her wrists burn as they rubbed against the blood-soaked ropes. Alone in the chamber with just her enemy for company, with no knowledge of the days—it could have been hours or years. Lying on her back with her wrists bound made her breathing come shallowly, her pale and sweat-soaked skin trembling as strands of Tsukuyomi's hair brushed lightly across her bare stomach. _

_Something had caved inside of her, falling silently into the hollow where her heart was. As if her emotional understanding of herself had to mirror the quiet wreckage of her mind, Setsuna could feel her strength slipping like cold meltwater through the cracks between her fingers. Dripping away and leaving behind only a damp numbness._

_Her lips worked weakly, barely whispering an audible sound. "…What was the question?"_

_Tsukuyomi laughed. _

"_You know…I don't even remember anymore!" She laughed again. "But that doesn't matter."_

_ Tsukuyomi bent over Setsuna's prone form and kissed her lightly, pulling back from Setsuna's motionless lips to look her in the eyes. Cupping Setsuna's cheek as sweetly as a lover, Tsukuyomi smiled triumphantly._

_ "Instead of always carrying her_ _with you, now you have _me._"_

November 23, 2007

**O**

_Same day_

Kyoto, Kansai Magic Association

**Tsukuyomi**

Tsukuyomi grinned, pushing her glasses up with a finger.

She was incredibly tempted to reach out and flick the tip of her katana across the unobservant maid's throat, but she just managed to restrain herself. Attracting attention to herself today wasn't ideal; and besides, she wasn't going to taint her favourite blade that way.

She was saving it for special occasions.

Once the maid moved on Tsukuyomi continued on her mission. It really was far too easy to move around once she had by-passed the perimeter security—the Kansai Magic Association put far too much trust in their spells and passcodes. Simple spells that the Shinmeiryuu taught all their students about, and passcodes that hadn't changed since a full month ago when a helpful guard had told her the "safe passage" words. All she had used was a simple threat: only that she would stick a knife into his gut if he lied to her; hardly anything to fret about. Tsukuyomi was disappointed at how easy it had been.

Truly, no one was as fun as her Senpai.

Ah, here it was.

Tsukuyomi slipped a length of purple silk through the bars, moving along undetected. She knew that the recipient would recongize it as one of her hair ribbons.

Her next target was just a few rooms down, and she let the silk pool into a shadowed spot by the door, disappearing out of sight when a mage-guard came by, mindlessly on his routine patrol.

Don't kill him. Not even to mess with him for fun. Really, Tsukuyomi was just dying to reach out and pluck his tanto from his belt…and it would be so easy to get him in the kidney with it, he was so close and so clueless…but no. Restraint.

This was only the first part of her plans, after all. No need to overly complicate things so soon.

Five minutes later, she was back outside the prison wing. Ten minutes later, she was out of the property boundaries, strolling along the sidewalk and humming a tune.

Really, she didn't _need _the demon summoner or the politician. But to her aggravation, she still had a few loose ends that needed tying—or cutting off. And while she wasn't silly enough to believe that the enemy of her enemy was anything remotely close to "friend", Tsukuyomi could play nice with allies. She had used Fate just as much as he had used her, after all.

Anyways, now they knew that she would be coming for them.

But patience…Tsukuyomi was waiting for the perfect moment.

"Oh, this is so exciting," she gushed, skipping for a few steps. Lifting her katana, Tsukuyomi trembled with excitement as she touched the bloody feather tied on her sword's hilt to her lips.

Just the taste brought back so many nice memories…

Soon.

She hadn't drawn her sword for three years, just waiting for the coming day.

Very soon.

The world can burn for all Tsukuyomi cared, as long as she had her Senpai in the end.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: This chapter was a little more laid-back, a breather episode, if you will, leading into the next arc ^^. It also gave me a chance to show some things that I haven't had time to get into in the previous more fast-paced chapters.**_

_**And yes, the multiple mood whiplashes and fan disservice were intentional ^^. This is not a pretty story I'm crafting here.**_

_**Sorry for the wait, and thanks everyone for your reviews! They help keep me going whenever I hit a roadblock ^_^ (which is what happened to cause the delay between the last chapter and this one!).**_


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